Destiny
by TheAnomalousOne
Summary: How Revenge of the Sith should have ended. On the turning point of Anakin Skywalker's life a mysterious woman turns up, claiming to be from the future. But who is she, and how can she 'save' Anakin and the Republic from destruction? Set in 19BBY/ROTS
1. Chapter 1 Ruminations

**Chapter 1 – Ruminations**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own anything to do with Star Wars – it's all George Lucas's! I'm just a lowly fan writer (for now...). I hope you enjoy this fic, it was the result of too much time on my hands and lots of inspiration and hyper enthusiasm. Enjoy!**

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Anakin had made up his mind – he had to do something to protect Padmé. He realised now, telling Windu that Palpatine was a sith lord had been a mistake – Windu would certainly kill the Chancellor now, at the time when Palpatine's life was most valuable to Anakin.

Sitting alone in the council room, it was almost as if Anakin could hear the Sith, Sidious's voice – a last, desperate plea for help: _"... You do know that, if the Jedi destroy me, all chance of saving Padmé will be lost..."_. Deep down, Anakin knew the Sith was right, even though every part of him repulsed the notion that such a creature of evil could be truthful. Though, after all, good and evil were merely points of view, and in Anakin's mind it seemed that this Sith and the Jedi contested each other when it came to evil: the Chancellor was a Sith, a being Anakin had been trained to destroy; the Jedi, it was now clear to him, had been corrupted by a want of power.

Suddenly, Anakin became aware of Padmé's presence. It was the strangest sensation, and rising to the window, he looked across to the elegant building in the distance where he knew Padmé was doing the same. For an extraordinary moment, it was as if their minds were connected – Anakin could feel Padmé's worry for him, for democracy, could perceive her ominous instinct that something was very, very wrong. He sensed her loneliness, her helplessness, as she accepted that she could do nothing but put her faith in her fierce love for Anakin and their unborn child.

These feelings made Anakin fully realise his responsibility, and what he truly stood to lose if he failed, and suddenly it was overwhelming. Padmé had been right – he did expect too much of himself, though he _wouldn't_ lose her, not while she was the only star in his pitch-black night. Surely, this was the ultimate of love: to be so selfless that he would even turn to the dark side, if it meant he could be strong enough to save those he loved? Though he hadn't been powerful enough for his mother, there was still hope for Padmé if he took advantage of the Sith's knowledge. Anakin felt he owed it to the memory of his mother to prove himself, to save his wife.

Staring out of the window to Padmé's apartment across the city, so close and yet so far from each other, Anakin felt the strength, and yet, the impossibility of their the dying sunlight from another day bathed the city around him in a vibrant crimson glow, he thought _and so this is how it will always be_. For his and Padmé's destinies were so different, they would always be separated in a way, with only the tender strands of their love spanning the breach between them.

Tears of acceptance pooled in his eyes as he made one last, final promise to the sun of his life, the one who made his existence worthwhile: _Padmé, my love for you is eternal. I cannot live without you, so everything I do now will be for you, even if it means joining the dark side so I can learn the power to save you. Please, forgive me for what I am about to do..._

A single tear fell from Anakin's eye as his gaze dropped to the floor – he couldn't bear her not being here. He knew what he had to do – the Sith would have to live.

Without warning, there came a low humming from just outside the door, quickly followed by an abrupt _crack! _Startled, Anakin held his lightsaber ready and crouched behind a chair. What was happening?

"Force that was painful!" an irate female voice cried from where the noise had just come from, "Whatever happened to stabilisers on this sithin' piece of rubbish? I hope you're listening up there people, 'cos you really need to sort that – oh, great. Radio's not even working! What a disaster – still, at least I ended up in the right place... I think..."

Anakin heard the voice pause, and decided to make his move – whoever this person was, they clearly didn't belong here. In a swift movement, he approached the door, which slid open at his command, igniting his lightsaber as he shouted "Show yourself!"

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**A/N: so, there we go, chapter 1. Don't worry if you found it extremely gloomy and depressing – the rest of the story is written in (hopefully) quite a different style, so shouldn't be too heavy.**

**As always Read + Review, my lovely readers, constructive comments are very welcome but please don't flame me *puppy eyes* this is my first SW fic. Enjoy the rest of my story!**


	2. Chapter 2  Intruder

**Chapter 2 – Intruder**

**Let's get this over with – I don't own Star Wars and only will in my dreams! Happy now? *****casts evil death glare look at ceiling*****. However, I do own the Temporal Destabiliser, though I don't own the concept of time travel (could you? Hmm, ponder that). **

**Anyway, enjoy chapter 2 of my fanfic, I certainly had fun writing it... Thank you for the reviews – they make me happy – oh and by the way, chapters from here on will get really long, so you have been warned.**

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"Show yourself!"

"All right, easy tiger!" the voice, now shocked and a lot quieter protested as a pair of startled, deep brown eyes peeked out at Anakin from the shadows around the entrance to the Jedi High Council chamber.

"Come out where I can see you!" Anakin ordered coldly, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. To his surprise, it was a young woman who cautiously edged out into his view. Her strange clothes were the first thing he noticed, peculiar, close-fitting garments that were quite unlike anything he had seen before. Her age was the other odd thing that struck him, as he noted the lightsaber at her belt and the wisdom shining in her eyes; she was a surprisingly powerful and experienced Jedi for one so young. She looked the same age as he, the youngest and most powerful Jedi Master in centuries – did that mean she was a threat to him?

It appeared not. The woman seemed to be doing her best to hide behind her curtain of long, dark brown hair from Anakin's fierce gaze, her eyes alert, watchful and terrified as they stared at each other.

The silence stretched for several seconds before Anakin, not yet prepared to let down his guard, demanded more information.

"Who were you talking to?" he interrogated.

"Uhh... I... was... err..." the woman stuttered, blushing furiously.

When she failed to answer, Anakin strode towards her, pushing her back into the wall and levelling his ignited lightsaber at her head, the blue, gently humming tip hovering in line with her eyes. "I said, who were you talking to?" he repeated through gritted teeth. The woman froze like an ewok in the path of a speeder, before hastily recovering and forcing out a response.

"I was trying to talk to... my colleagues, from the Rebel Alliance base on-" she suddenly stopped, afraid of giving too much away. Unfortunately, this just confused Anakin even more, and his raised eyebrows prompted her to continue explaining. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you everything," she yielded, raising her hands in a gesture of surrender, "but I don't talk well with imminent death hovering in my face!" she looked pointedly at Anakin's hand gripping her shoulder and the weapon aimed at her face. After a few seconds of deliberation, he lowered his hand and shut off his lightsaber, stepping back to give her some room.

The woman inclined her head in thanks, before spinning to face the doors and moving back through them into the empty room, using the force to close and secure the doors, behind them. Anakin raised an eyebrow at her acute case of paranoia.

"I am Jedi Master Clarissa Lihac, and I know this is going to sound crazy, but I'm on a mission from the future to save the Republic. I come bearing a gift for you – the gift of common sense, since you are so obviously deficient in it."

"You _what?_" Anakin spluttered. That woman, Clarissa, was wrong – she wasn't crazy, she was utterly insane! The future? "Prove it."

"Ah ha! _That_ I can do." with a mischievous smile, she reached into a small bag at her side and pulled out a holo-paper. She tossed it to a curious Anakin, who noted that the date on the front of the newspaper, _The Alliance Today_, was some 20 years in the future.

"Time travel..." Anakin muttered in amazement, "Where... how did you get the technology?" Spying the contraption Clarissa had used tucked at her side, he edged towards it.

"That," she replied reprovingly, "is classified. And no touching! I don't want you breaking that as well..." she smacked Anakin's hand back, which had been edging dangerously close to the smallish black cube clutched in her hand.

"Hmm... sure..." Anakin acknowledged absent-mindedly, still scrutinising the machine. "Hang on, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?" he held out his hand for her to shake. "I'm-"

"Anakin Skywalker. You-you don't need to say. I've... uhh... read all your files..." Clarissa trailed off in a very small voice, pink spreading rapidly across her cheeks. She shook his hand timidly, protesting weakly, "Well I had to, for this mission, didn't I?"

"If you say so," Anakin replied, a cruel smile playing across his lips. "So, Clarissa, am I famous in the future?"

Clarissa laughed, momentarily forgetting her embarrassment as she marvelled in the irony of his words. "I think _in_famous would be a better word." she chuckled for a few more seconds, until suddenly her face froze.

Anakin tensed, caught off guard, and cast around suspiciously for intruders, lowering into a defensive stance. "What is it?"

"_Force_, I shouldn't have told you that. You didn't hear that last part, ok?"

"Whatever – infamous?" Anakin repeated, completely ignoring her. "How am I infamous? I'm the saviour of the Republic, the Hero with no Fear!"

Clarissa sighed, resigning herself to a torrent of questions. At last, she spoke: "Anakin, tonight you will save Chancellor Palpatine, aka Darth Sidious, and become his apprentice. You become a... Sith lord, Darth Vader, and condemn the galaxy to dictatorship."

Anakin, absorbed in an angry silence, strode to the window, staring out into the gathering twilight. "I will become a Sith when _Tatooine_ freezes over. How could you even..." his voice was low and dangerous, his hand twitching reflexively towards his lightsaber. Clarissa looked like she would go over to him, but kept her distance; Anakin's anger and outrage was rolling off him in waves. She set her priceless time travel device safely on the floor – she feared Anakin would soon turn this meeting into a fight.

There was another tense silence, this time longer, until Clarissa finally gathered her courage.

"Look, Anakin, please try and understand. This is why I was sent here – I can help you change this future, talk some sense into you, and save everyone." She felt guilty for doing this, but if Padmé had to be brought into this discussion to convince Anakin the sith way was not right, then so be it.

At her words, he finally turned. "You can? Change... the future? Save..." he trailed off, his expression mournful, before hardening into a steel mask of loathing. "I don't need your help, and I don't want it either. You're making all this up, I can't trust you." However hard she tried he wouldn't listen to her now; the thoughts in his head were spiralling out of control. "You're probably a Sith assassin sent to kill me, aren't you? Well, not if I kill you first!"

With a flying leap, Anakin attacked – Clarissa had barely enough time to draw her own lightsaber before he was on top of her. His strikes came with such speed and ferocity that she could barely keep up, until at last she parried an attack and managed to keep him still long enough to speak.

"Look, just stop being such a nerfherder, Ani! Calm down and we can talk this through rationally!" she panted, struggling to keep her position.

"Only Padmé calls me that anymore," he replied harshly, glaring at her with a deathstare that would fry brains in years to come.

"Yes, Padmé! Those premonitions – we can change that future, save her from her fate."

"I won't listen to you!"

_Why did I have to get the stubborn one?_ Clarissa couldn't help but think, as she dodged another series of flamboyant assaults. She returned his strikes defiantly and drove him back towards the wide windows, which allowed her to safely retreat to the other side of the room. There was a metallic, ruthless glint in Anakin's eyes that scared Clarissa; was she already too late to save him from the dark side? His anger overwhelmed her senses, and she staggered back, dizzy with the sheer weight of his emotion.

Struggling to maintain her focus, Clarissa shut off her saber. "I will not fight you. You know I am not a sith – search your feelings, you know it to be true!"

For a long moment, Anakin scrutinised her, her pleading expression, her defensive, yet self-conscious stance, her passionate but innocent eyes. Slowly, ever so slowly, he lowered his weapon. She offered him a small, hopeful smile, but unsurprisingly, he didn't return it.

"I'm still not sure I can trust you..." he regarded her as if she was some kind of half-wild animal, prone to sudden, vicious attacks.

Clarissa decided bluntness was the best solution to his worries. "Look, Anakin, if I had anything less than a real desire to keep you alive, you'd be toast by now. And don't even try denying it – I have plenty more tricks up my Obi-Wan trained sleeve."

Though his pride was hurt much more than he would ever accept, he had to admit she was right – she had been more than a match for him them. However, he didn't fail to pick up on her interesting detail. "You were trained by Obi-Wan?"

"Probably shouldn't have told you that, but yeah, I was. He trained me on Tatooine. Though come to think of it, I probably shouldn't have told you that either." As she was saying this, she edged over to where her time machine rested innocently on the floor – Anakin stowed away his weapon and followed her. Understanding that letting him examine her device would increase his trust of her, she let him approach and – though she had a very bad feeling about this – pick up the device she had spent the best part of 10 years labouring over.

She got slightly more worried when he started poking around inside the machine. While she looked on apprehensively, he casually threw questions at her.

"Well, this certainly looks very flashy – does it have a flashy name as well?"

"Yeah, its full name is a Temporal Destabiliser. You impressed?"

Handing it back to her, he shrugged. "Some bits I recognise, but others..."

"I'm not surprised," she replied, "this thing was mainly made out of spare parts and new concepts we worked on. Though there is an advantage of it being so basic; at least this machine doesn't answer back all the time." she ran her fingertips gently over the surface of the fragile Destabiliser, the metal cool against her skin. One touch brought up a 3D hologram of the destinations she had preset into the device, which she studied hard. Clarissa was absorbed in her device, Anakin gazing in wonder; they both jumped and Clarissa nearly dropped her precious time machine when a furious crackling spat out of the coms device at her side.

Desperately thrusting the cube upon Anakin, she ripped the com off her side, flicking on the holographic image of her colleagues back in the future.

"Clari! Thank the force... alright!" the loud hiss of static accompanying the voice from one of the figures in the com link meant that both Jedi had to strain to understand what was being said.

"Clari?" Anakin questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Clarissa turned to look at him. "It's what my friends call me." She turned back to her com, and when she replied she spoke slowly and clearly, though barely able masking her excitement.

"We needn't have worried about those problems we had when we tested the Destabiliser, guys – everything works fine, though the ride was a tad bumpy." The group of four Clarissa was addressing, Anakin noticed, were all women of a similar age to her, and were all brimming with excitement and pleasure at her success.

"I got back to the right place, and I've checked, nothing's broken. _Yet_," she inclined with her head that Anakin should move closer. He did so, as to be visible in the com, and the girls on the other side instantly made noises of approval.

"Looks like you found yourself a new boyfriend, Clari!" one of the women called, laughing – a tall, enthusiastic brunette with not the slightest amount of tact.

Clarissa heard the woman's comment, and immediately flushed a deeper colour than a sunset over the Red Plains of Tatooine. "Shut up, Danni! Don't you know he's married!" the girls didn't fail to spot Anakin's bemused stare at their strangely well-informed friend, and broke into poorly concealed giggles. Thankfully, one of Clarissa's friends had the compassion to save her from her humiliation:

"I'm just so glad we could get through to you – everything went haywire just after you left, we don't know what happened," Clarissa looked concerned as the woman continued, "We thought that maybe it could be-"

Suddenly, her words were cut off as an ear-splitting siren could be heard through the com, along with a cool female voice calmly repeating, "Emergency Code Alpha. The base had been compromised, repeat, we have a breach."

Both Clarissa and her colleagues stood frozen as the words _Emergency Code Alpha_ filtered through their minds, before their training kicked in and as a team, her colleagues sprang into action. It was clear people were running around them in a panic and they started to assign people tasks: "Seal the inner doors!", "Wipe the memory cores – they mustn't discover _any_ of what we are doing!".

Anakin saw Clarissa watching on helplessly as people and voices flitted across the holographic image – there was nothing she could do, at a time when she was needed most.

Suddenly, there came an eerie silence from the com, until the one remaining figure in the image – clearly the leader of the mission – shouted to the rest of the now-silent, dark room, her voice echoing off distant walls. "The generator is down! Evacuate! Team, with me." The clatter of pounding feet and engine hums could be heard as the four women regrouped around the com and drew their lightsabers. "Clari, don't forget your main priority is the mission. We will stay here and protect the equipment-"

"No! What? Alex, you lot should be evacuating with the rest of the staff!" Clarissa addressed the leader, the woman who had been speaking.

"Clari, I will not just run away, leaving 10 years hard work to be destroyed," Alex replied, speaking passionately and with a very firmly made up mind. "Besides, it'll only be a few troopers, nothing we can't handle." Clarissa looked so worried that her friends all repeated the reassurances, their faces lit green and blue with the glow from their lightsabers.

Without warning, Clarissa heard the sound of an explosion, and the four women in the com all turned towards the sound of the commotion as their enemy, the 'few troopers' streamed through the hole where the door used to be.

"Sithin' hell, it's Vader!" Danni swore, and the group took on a defensive fighting stance.

"Oh my force, get out of there!" Clarissa squeaked, and Alex addressed her firmly.

"Clari, remember the mission is your first priority. Succeed in that, and none of this will have happened!" Clarissa nodded and pulled herself together – but before she could say anything from the other side there came the sounds of a lightsaber fight, and into the image appeared a towering figure dressed entirely in black, who Anakin didn't recognise. He had just enough time to see the clash of the figure's red lightsaber with Alex's blue one, before the image stuttered and went dead.

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**A/N: Oh no! They're all dead! I know, lovely readers, what a shockingly clichéd turn of events! And yes, they are dead (for now). A little warning here – if you are feeling confused, prepare to be a lot more confused by the next few chapters. I shall try and go easy on you, if you give me reviews! And yes, Clari is me. I know, I know, self-insertion is one of the greatest crimes in writerdom, but this was a bit of fun that spiralled out of control, and I never intended to put this on until I had got a decent way into it (so please don't kill me).** **More chapters soon...**


	3. Chapter 3 The Temporal Destabiliser

**Chapter 3 – The Temporal Destabliser**

**Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I didn't own Star Wars. **

**So now, continuing from the gripping ending of last chapter, here is chapter 3... how will she change Anakin's mind? Mustafar!**

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"No!" Clarissa screamed, punching buttons at random, desperately trying to re-establish the connection. None of her attempts worked, and tears of frustration and sorrow streamed down her face as she gave up, slumping against a chair and sliding to the floor.

"What happened?" Anakin mused, still staring at the empty space where the holographic image had just been, "She said _Vader_..."

Clarissa's voice was muffled behind her hands, "Their base was attacked..."

"But you said... I was Vader..." Anakin remembered slowly, ignoring her comment. Clarissa looked up, her face wet with tears, her eyes suddenly cold and hard.

"Don't you understand, Captain Obvious?" she hissed vehemently, glaring her most passionate deathstare in Anakin's direction, "This all happened because of you! They're probably all dead thanks to you, stupid Sith!"

She had stood up now, and was shouting, and a shocked Anakin tried to reason with her.

"Just calm down! There's nothing you can do."

"No, I will not calm down!" Clarissa screamed at him, furious tears streaming down her face, "My friends are dead – what chance do they stand, barely Jedi Knights against a Sith lord – you!" Anakin could see a shadow of his angular, strong-featured face reflected in Clarissa's shining eyes – the face of a monster.

"I have to go help them," she realised, scrambling for her device with shaking hands, "Just... stay exactly where you are," she threw the remark across her shoulder towards him.

"No, wait! Just think-" A blue energy field blossomed around the device, as Clarissa reached to make the final selection of the destination that would take her back to the future. Anakin ran across to her, too fast – his outstretched hand knocked Clarissa's hand into selecting another location. Clarissa stared up at him in alarm and surprise, but it was too late to do anything – the blue bubble encapsulating them crackled and pulsated with white sparks. Clarissa muttered something, but Anakin didn't have time to catch it; over the humming energy field there was a _crack_ and the world turned to black around them.

At first, there was the sensation of falling. But it wasn't a gentle, floating-on-air falling; they were plummeting through space, with no assurance of anything to catch them. Flashes of colour flickered across Anakin's vision, overwhelming him with a multitude of snapshots in time that came and went too quickly for him to identify. Anakin turned his head, or at least tried to, but all he could see was colour, rich, deep, blinding colour-

With a jerk, Anakin's feet hit metal, and he crashed to the ground with Clarissa, as his knees buckled from the force of the landing. For a moment, he couldn't move; his vision span wildly, and his stomach rolled and heaved like he was going to be sick. He took a deep, steadying breath, but coughed it out again instantly – the air tasted of ash, smoke and metal. after a few moments, he staggered to his feet, his eyes adjusting to the darkness around him.

"Yeah, we haven't quite perfected the ride yet. Or the landing." Clarissa groaned as she steadied herself against Anakin, one hand clutching his shoulder and the other grasping the Destabliliser.

"Where are we?" Anakin questioned as he looked around him. They stood on a large landing platform protruding from the side of a plain, undecorated and somehow menacing building.

"You tell me, you're the one who pushed my hand." she retorted sharply.

The landscape was bleak, a towering inferno complete with lava river and volcanoes. The weak sun was almost completely obscured by the smoky clouds, so it felt like constant night; the looming industrial buildings sprawled around them lay cloaked in shadow. The only real illumination came from the fiery amber lava beneath them, that flowed in huge, deadly rivers from the endless volcanoes covering the planet's surface. Plumes of lava sporadically erupted high into the air around them, serving as a magnificent yet lethal backdrop for the scene that would soon break out.

"Hang on… Oh dear." Clarissa groaned over the background roar of the lava. She scrutinized the landscape, the metal landing platform in front of the, before checking the co-ordinates of the location they had arrived at on her Destabiliser.

"Sith, Anakin, you've landed us up on Mustafar!" she gasped with alarm. He looked back at her with a raised eyebrow – the name meant nothing to him.

"Well I'm sorry, Clarissa, but I just wanted you to wait and-"

"I know, don't worry – I panicked. There's nothing I could have done, and if all goes well-" she directed a pointed look at Anakin, "-none of that will happen anyway. But call me Clari, there's no use with pointless formality." She looked up and flashed an inviting smile at him, and at last, he smiled back.

"So, Clari, what's so bad about Mustafar?" the quiet roar of engines gradually approaching saved her a long, arduous reply.

"You'll find out," was all she said, directing a sad, almost pitying look at him as she lead the way behind a low metal barrier around the edge of the platform – out of sight of whoever was coming. Their position was extremely precarious; though they were invisible to anyone on the platform, there was nothing to stop _them_ falling over the unprotected edge and into the lava, the edge of the platform a mere metre away from where they crouched.

Anakin gazed up at the approaching ship, which was circling, looking for a place to land. "Wait a minute, that's a Naboo star skiff – that's Padmé's ship!" Anakin's mind erupted with questions: what was she doing out here, on this hostile planet? What terrible event had brought her here – she clearly wasn't out house hunting, or at least Anakin hoped she wasn't – he didn't find the idea of living on a lava planet very romantic.

Clari saw Anakin's focus drift, as his mind filled with possibilities – she poked him, hard, until he came back to himself, scowling, and she had his full attention.

"Anakin, you need to listen. This is important. Like, really _really_ protection-of-the-fabric-of-the-universe important. Just for once, _can you please not do anything stupid?" _she spoke excessively slowly, as though this would reinforce the message of her words. "We must _not_ be seen – Vader is here, I can sense the presence of the dark side. If you fight him, you fight yourself – if Vader, your future self kills you, a past self, you'll create an all-consuming paradox that even _you_ couldn't fix. You follow?"

Anakin nodded slowly, "But why would I want to kill him? – apart from being a sith, I mean."

"Uhh..." Clari desperately fumbled for an excuse, "that's classified. But don't forget, this may be your future, but this event is in my past and is controlled by greater events – you can't change it. The only thing you can do is help me cure the problem at its source: you and Palpatine-"

She fell silent as Padmé's skiff broke through the dark clouds once again, this time gliding in to land on the illuminated landing pad where Clarissa and Anakin hid. The Naboo ship was elegant, fluidly streamlined with a reflective, iridescent surface; it clashed violently with the harsh, hostile world of fire it was landing on. Anakin could only watch, entranced, as the ship landed, its engines humming mellifluously.

"_Padmé_," he stared hungrily at the ship, whispering so quietly only he could hear. His heart ached passionately with longing for her – their meetings recently had been so brief, and Anakin wished so much that he could escape with Padmé – away from the war, the danger of his dreams – to some forgotten, beautiful planet where they would never be discovered. But that would always be just a dream, because the universe was unfair like that.

Suddenly Clari gasped softly, "Look, there!" Anakin followed her pointing finger to an enclosed walkway in the distance. Striding towards them was visible the silhouette of a tall, cloaked figure, the epicentre of a storm of emotions all swirling in the dark side.

Anakin bristled, narrowing his eyes as the black figure swept past the buildings, towards Padmé – he abruptly felt the urge to jump up and cut the Sith down, before it could get to his beloved wife. Clari put a restraining hand on his shoulder, as Padmé ran out of her ship and embraced the imposter, the Sith.

"I saw your ship. What are you doing here?" Vader spoke to Padmé, holding her close. Clari and Anakin were concealed close to the couple, but still had to strain to catch their conversation over the low roar of the lava beneath them. Anakin was disgusted by the concern that marked the Sith's face, the tenderness in its eyes – it just felt _wrong_.

"I was so worried about you," Padmé confessed, close to tears, "Obi-Wan told me terrible things..."

Anakin's heart filled with dread – what had he done? His counterpart framed the question hovering on Anakin's lips, "What things?"

Padmé's eyes were wide, fearful, disbelieving as she shuddered, "He said that you turned to the dark side. That you... killed younglings!" Anakin was stunned – here, at last, was unquestionable proof of his future – he would never doubt Padmé.

"Obi-Wan is trying to turn you against me," Anakin's doppelganger soothed; underneath the calm tones there was a deep jealousy and anger – he could see Padmé was torn between her lost and desperate husband, and their closest friend and confidant.

"He cares about us." Padmé protested, seeing the distrust and hatred rising in her husband's eyes.

"Us?" Vader echoed accusingly.

"He knows. He wants to help you." Vader smiled sardonically, as if with the incredulity of the proposal – a Jedi help a Sith? Padmé spotted this too and thought she was digging herself a hole, so moved their exchange away from Obi-Wan.

"Anakin, all I want is your love," she cried desperately – she could see she was rapidly losing the battle to save Anakin's soul from the dark.

"Love won't save you Padmé. Only my new powers can do that." Anakin was horrified – was this really what he was to become? A power hungry obsessive? (not that he's not that anyway :P )

"At what cost?" Padmé reasoned, "You're a good person, don't do this!" Anakin admired her resilience, and the way she entirely believed in him – it was a tremendous effort to stay concealed, not to give himself away and give her hope.

"I won't lose you the way I lost my mother." Anakin winced and turned his face away, his mind free-falling through terrible memories – his mother, missing; his mother, dying in his arms; the anger, the tormenting pain... he realised now, he would truly do anything to protect Padmé – the dark side seemed the only option to him. It was inevitable, pre-ordained. "I am becoming more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of," Vader continued, "And I'm doing it for you, to protect you."

Padmé shook her head slightly – this wasn't her Anakin. In one last attempt, she moved close to him, putting her arms around his neck and fingering his long, thick hair nervously – the blue in Anakin's eyes had been wiped out, replaced with a venomous red that unsettled her. "Come away with me. Help me raise our child – leave everything else behind while we still can."

"Don't you see? We don't have to run away anymore," Vader proclaimed, "I have brought peace to the Republic," Padmé looked alarmed and released him, backing away in disbelief, "I am more powerful than the Chancellor – I-I can overthrow him. And together, you and I can rule the galaxy... make things the way we want them to be!"

Anakin could feel the almost tangible power surrounding his duplicate; Vader looked entirely at ease with his power, positively euphoric with his newfound strength.

Padmé backed away a few more incredulous steps – she wouldn't believe that the Anakin she knew had really gone – she couldn't. "I don't believe what I'm hearing. Obi-Wan was right. You've _changed_." she whispered the last word, hardly daring to voice it.

That flicker of annoyance, of jealousy, crossed Vader's face, "I don't want to hear anymore about Obi-Wan," he commanded, "the Jedi turned against me. Don't you turn against me!"

Tears were shining in Padmé's eyes, "I don't know you anymore. Anakin, you're breaking my heart! You're going down a path I can't follow."

"Because of Obi-Wan." He spoke with a dangerous, volatile calm, all the concern he had showed earlier driven out by his uncontrollable anger.

"Because of what you've done. What you plan to do," Padmé exclaimed. Vader stared with loathing at the top of the ship's boarding ramp. It was Obi-Wan. "Stop. Stop now – come back!" she pleaded, moving closer as if she could physically push him back, "I love you!"

"Liar!" Vader thundered. Padmé gasped, turning to see Obi-Wan walking slowly down the ramp towards her.

"No!" she cried in denial, realising the hate and the fight she had just created. Her husband glared at her with such malice that she stumbled back even more, terrified. As he advanced on her, she looked around herself wildly, desperately searching for anyone, anything that could help her – for this was the end, and the man advancing on her was no longer the man she loved. He was truly dead, and soon she would join him. Anakin shifted nervously in his hiding place; Clari could sense his intentions, and grabbed his wrist.

"Don't you dare," she hissed at Anakin, fixing him with the most penetrating masterly glare she could produce. The fingers of her other hand, however, were crossed tightly behind her back, praying they could get out of this mess alive. Anakin turned frantically back to the drama before them.

"You're with him! You brought him here to kill me." Vader spat. In a flash of rage, his temper snapped – extending his arm towards Padmé, his thumb and finger throttled the air between them.

"No," Padmé choked, her hand clutching her throat, her eyes wide with pain and terror. It was too much for Anakin – he struggled with Clari, trying to free his wrist. They engaged in a silent, swift struggle, until finally Anakin wrenched his hand out of her grip, almost sending her plummeting into the lava.

"You can't change anything!" she hissed futily, regaining her balance. Anakin ignored her, jumping clear of the barrier concealing him and charging towards Vader, his lightsaber drawn.

"Let her go," Obi-Wan ordered, "...Anakin?" he watched with astonishment as Anakin jumped out from his hiding place and Vader span around, igniting his lightsaber instinctively. They engaged in a brief, but vicious spar – Vader, startled by the sudden change in events, released his grip on Padmé. She gasped for air, falling to the floor unconscious.

Both Skywalkers stopped their fight, turning identically: Anakin looking alarmed and concerned; Vader with a horrified expression on his face as in the pause he suddenly realised what he had done.

"Well, so much for wishful thinking," Clari muttered to herself, before retrieving the Destabiliser and rushing after Anakin.

Obi-Wan was staring, struggling to maintain his cool. Really not getting it, his gaze flicked between the two Anakins, the only difference between them their eye colour – one pair clear, cold blue, the other red and yellow, as vivid and ferocious as the lava that coursed far beneath their feet.

"Oh force, double trouble! What is this, some kind of joke?" Kenobi cried in exasperation, fixing his masterly stare on Clari as she approached warily.

"Wait, I can explain," she hurried, before back-pedalling rapidly, "Actually no I can't – it would take years. Let's just say we're… ah… not supposed to be here – it's that moron's fault," she inclined her head towards the blue-eyed Anakin, and Obi-Wan raised a masterly eyebrow at her pointless witterings. The two Anakins exchanged a despairing 'fangirls' look, before going back to glaring daggers at everyone in the vicinity.

"So… um… just forget we were ever here," she continued, focusing her mind – or at least trying to – and attempting that certain Jedi mind trick. The one she hadn't quite got the hang of yet. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work, the only consequence being Obi-Wan's eyebrow rose further up his forehead. He regarded the young Jedi before him with something resembling pitying amusement, while Clari's cheeks burned as bright as the lava surrounding them – she really was digging herself a hole.

"We'll leave you two to get on with whatever you were… doing." she winced at the last word, and that just made everyone loads more confused than they were already, if that was possible.

"Can someone explain what's going on?" demanded the red-eyed Anakin, fed up with not having anything to say.

"No!" Chorused Clari, the other Anakin and Obi-Wan. _Fail_, Clari felt like throwing in.

"Wait! Surely it would be impolite for you to depart without me having the pleasure of knowing who I am talking to?" Obi-Wan called in his best, suave cool-as-a-cucumber tone, resuming the earlier conversation as Clari turned away.

The female Jedi paused and turned back, flattered – neither danger nor mystery ever got in the way of Obi-Wan's chivalry, it seemed. "I'm Clarissa Lihac, a Jedi Knight. I'm from… a galaxy far, far away." She snickered at some private joke, which Obi-Wan and the Anakins missed.

"Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, at your service," he declared courteously, casually throwing a charismatic smile in her direction.

"Now, what's the betting she already knew that as well?" a voice behind her commented acidly. She turned, deathstare primed and ready.

"How very _perceptive_ of you, Anakin," she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she located her guilty victim in the blue-eyed Anakin – even he wilted under the power of her gaze.

"Forgive my _former_ padawan, Clarissa – his tongue frequently gets ahead of his brain," Obi-Wan soothed into the very awkward silence. Clari glowered, but turned her back on the infuriatingly smug-looking Anakin.

"Surely there is no point in us not being civilised about this," the Jedi Master continued, "Now, why don't we all get off this miserable excuse for a planet and we can continue our conversation elsewhere." Clari looked tempted, but both the rationally thinking part of her brain and Anakin – who had moved to kneel beside the prone figure of his beloved wife – felt otherwise.

Anakin put a gentle hand on Padmé's forehead but was shocked, almost frightened by the raw power of the emotions he found within her – the crushing despair, the pain, the disbelief, the loss. As if his hand had been seared, he drew it sharply back; Clari could see the wheels in his head starting to click in place, and wanted to get out of here before he realised the truth of what was happening.

"No, we really have to go," Clari fumbled with the Destabiliser, struggling to find the activation switch in the murky darkness.

"Well, what are you going to do, fly out of here on one of those decrepit old spice freighters?" Obi-Wan called, just as she managed to get her machine working.

"Hey, don't diss the _Twilight_," Clari retaliated, pointing a disapproving finger in Obi-Wan's direction. She approached the blue-eyed Anakin, who stepped away from Padmé with sorrow and into the expanding sphere of crackling blue energy – all this time, his eyes never left his wife.

"Well," Obi-Wan faltered, trying to figure out what 'diss' meant, "we'll meet again, I hope?"

A mischievous grin spread over Clari's face, delighting in the irony as she cast a last look over the younger version of her master standing before her, "Oh, _I'm_ sure we will." She replied enigmatically.

With a crack, Clari and Anakin were ripped out of space and time, leaving only two – now very confused – adversaries and a _very_ screwed up timeline behind them.

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**A/N: Sorry this chapter was really long, but I had to get through this scene in one go. Yes, the dialogue is transcripted from Revenge of the Sith (cos I have OCD and it had to be PERFECT!) and as I wrote this I realised the truth of what people have said about this scene and others in the Prequels – George Lucas cannot write romantic scene dialogue! I'm not saying I could do any better (my dialogue leaves a lot to be desired), but it's just so... cheesy! I mean, '****You're going down a path I can't follow', where has the fierce Senator Amidala of Attack of the Clones or even Phantom Menace gone?**

**I could rant about this for days, but I will spare you and shut up now. Read + Review; more chapters soon!**


	4. Chapter 4 Realisations

**Chapter Four – Realisations**

**So, here's a random little chapter, overflowing with back-story, random fluff and explanations (hey, it's important fluff). BTW, Etherspace was also another of my random ideas, but I recently watched The Matrix and discovered they had stolen my idea! I shall be sueing... (even though the matrix was made 11 years ago when I was ickle). **

**I don't own Star Wars. It's kinda logical, seeing as if I did, Obi-Wan would be the Chosen One, wouldn't die, Anakin would have enough sense not to go over to the Dark Side, and Padmé would have enough sense to dump him and end up with Kenobi. Ah well, not everything in life can be perfect...**

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Anakin had braced himself for the terrifying sensation this time, so when they landed he managed to stay on his feet; he immediately shut his eyes and tried to ignore the painful swaying in his head.

Clari sniggered, "So that's what Master Obi-Wan looked like when he was younger..."

"Yeah, and what was with that evil grin earlier, anyway?" Anakin interjected, his eyes still closed on whatever environment they had ended up in.

"Oh, I was just reminiscing the fun little escapades I got up to while he was trying to teach me how to be a good Jedi." Anakin was puzzled at the strange lack of background noise to their conversation: there was no birdsong, no sound either natural or manmade – in its place there was just a void, and he curiously opened his eyes. When he did he got a shock, almost falling over in surprise and fear.

Encapsulating him and Clari was… nothing. Stretching out endlessly in all directions there was just blank, white space. Anakin couldn't tell how big the space they were standing in went on for – sound just seemed to stop dead in the air after a few metres. He looked over at Clari to gauge her reaction, but to his surprise she was utterly nonchalant, giggling from Anakin's hilarious reaction.

"You know this place?" He accused, startled by her eerie composure.

"We call it… Etherspace." She proclaimed dramatically with a small flourish of her hand. "It's kind of… outside time, like a netherworld – everywhere, yet nowhere."

Her enigmatic words really weren't making much sense to Anakin, but he nodded and smiled anyway, like he understood. "But why did you bring us here?"

"To stop you messing up anymore timelines," she replied bluntly, "to be honest, you're a liability – I mean, I ask, I specifically ask, for you _not _to intervene, and what do you do? Jump out and get into a fight with a Sith!"

"But I had to! He was killing… _Padmé_," Anakin cut in, his voice changing on the last word as he remembered Clari's sorrowful expression and evasive answer in response to his question about the events that had happened on Mustafar, that terrible planet, like she was pitying him; he remembered Padmé's emotions as she lay silent, despairing, and a terrible realization scorched through his mind. Clari, watching Anakin acutely noticed the dramatic change in his emotions – she realized that there was still hope, that Anakin could still be saved.

"Clari, if you're so keen on me changing my ways, you need to tell me the whole story. I need to know the future I create." Anakin looked Clari in the eye, deadly serious, and then turned with his expression guarded and carefully unemotional as he stared into the nothingness.

"Fine, I'll tell you – but you need to let me finish before you say anything," she bargained, sitting down on the surface they were standing on and setting the Destabiliser down beside her. She carefully monitored Anakin as she began: "That night when I arrived, you stop Mace Windu arresting the chancellor. The Sith, Sidious, kills Windu and makes you his apprentice, with promises of power to save Padmé. That night, you and a squad of clone troopers storm the Jedi Temple, killing everyone in the building. Order 66 is put into action, the command built in to all clones identifying the Jedi as traitors to the Republic who are to be killed. In the chaos, almost all the Jedi are wiped out.

A new Empire is created, with the Emperor Sidious at its command and Vader by his side. Vader is dispatched to Mustafar to kill the Separatist leaders gathered there, and end the Clone Wars; meanwhile Master Yoda and Master Kenobi, who had both narrowly escaped the slaughter, learn the truth of what had happened and set out to find Vader. Eventually, this results in the scene we just saw – or would have seen, if you hadn't gone and messed things up. Vader chokes Padmé unconscious, and then he and Kenobi duel – by the way, Obi-Wan wins." She inserted brightly. Anakin was utterly focused on her words, in a tangle of emotions she couldn't make out, "Padmé comes round to give birth to twins, but she loses the will to live and…" she had trouble getting the words out, "…dies."

"No…" Anakin whispered after a pause, "I could never… I swore to protect her."

"But don't you see, Anakin? That was your fatal mistake – you thought power was the answer, but it's not. Sometimes there are things that if you try to stop, just get worse."

"But why are you telling me all this? Why did you even come here in the first place? Surely it'll mess up all your precious timelines."

"No, you don't get it – this is my mission. I have to tell you so you _can_ change the future for the... greater good." For a second a glimmer of deep sorrow passed over Clari's face; it went as fast as it had come.

"By messing up timelines?"

"By messing up timelines." She replied in the affirmative.

"Padmé loses the will to live? That's not the Padmé I know." He queried disbelievingly as he picked up another part of her story, the sentence sounding so strange to him.

Clari shook her head, "You don't know the power of love. It ultimately changed both you and her for the worse, but you didn't see it. This is why the Jedi have that non-attachment rule – love is dangerous if you don't know how to control it." Anakin had heard this mantra many times before from Obi-Wan, but listened attentively now that the issue really was personal, "Your love for Padmé was fashioned into a weapon by Sidious, which he used against you for his own means, making the boundaries of good and evil hazy to you."

Anakin laughed incredulously, "Look, if you're trying to convince me out of love, now would probably be the right time to remind you I have been secretly married for two years."

"No, no," Clari protested hastily, "Force no, I know that's a lost cause – I'm just trying to make you aware of where you went wrong before. No, hang on, that's not right... after. Oh, nevermind." She shook her head, giving up, "Just know the dangers of love, and how to control them, and everything's fine by my book."

Anakin felt himself agreeing with what she said – it made a refreshing change from the rigid opinions of the Jedi Masters who frequently drilled him on the subject.

"But really, Anakin, you are a problem child," she continued, getting far too carried away with the whole advice and reflection thing, "You have too many pent-up emotions, that's your problem – you need an outlet, or your emotions will consume you." She continued gleefully.

"Great, now you're counselling me," Anakin replied indignantly, "Oh, and for your information, I already have an outlet. It's called Djem So, my fighting style."

"No, you mustn't use your emotions in your fighting – that's a path to the dark side," Clari told him sternly, before brightening, "Take up a dangerous sport or something, that's what I'd do."

"Err... right." Anakin muttered awkwardly. There was an uncomfortable silence as Clarissa fiddled with her lightsaber nervously, and Anakin stared off into white space, his brow furrowed in concentration – he was clearly still thinking about what she had told him about his future.

"Well, you haven't exploded or tried to kill me again yet, so I guess my story makes sense." She ventured hesitantly.

"Everything adds up – the cause and effect is logical enough, I suppose," replied Anakin, coming out of his reverie, "and since when did I try to kill you?"

"Only the last time I tried to tell you about the future," she scoffed, affronted, "You sithin' jumped on me, for force's sake!"

"Well sorry-" he began, before being interrupted.

"I mean, that's hardly a very good strategy, is it?"

"Look, just give me a break, OK? I was stressed…" they lapsed into silence once more.

"Are we just going to stay here forever or something?" Anakin fumed, pacing the empty blankness like it was a cage.

"Anakin, stand still for Force's sake, you're making me dizzy," Clari pleaded, waiting until he had stopped and was staring at her expectantly before continuing, "We'll leave, but on one condition – I need to know that you've changed your mind on what to do for Padmé. I need to know you won't join the Sith. That was my mission here, after all."

At last Anakin sat down, across from Clari. His vivid blue eyes stared earnestly into her dark brown ones as he spoke: "Clari, you have made me realise that the best thing I can do for Padmé is to embrace the present and ignore the future – it can still be changed, anyway. Power, the Sith way, with not solve my problems, only make them worse; only by realising the hidden dangers of love can I be truly happy. Thank you for teaching me this."

Clari smiled warmly, glowing with pride as she rose to her feet, "Then my work here is halfway done."

Anakin's returning smile faltered in confusion as he caught her phrase, "'Halfway done'?" he quoted, "Why halfway? What else have you got to mess up?"

Clari's forehead creased in a sarcastic frown. "Constructive destruction, Anakin, not 'messing up'. We've got to take out that Sith for good," she rallied, "And _then_ my mission is finished."

"I thought Mace Windu was already handling Sidious?" Anakin queried, rising as Clari readied the Destabiliser.

"Well let's go give him some help then!" She exclaimed. Anakin threw a questioning look at Clari that seemed to say _seriously? That guy hates my guts – don't know why though..._ as the energy field grew around them.

* * *

**A/N: There we go, another chapter. It was mentioned to me that Clari's intentions are not exactly clear, so I stuck them in here to fill up space. Review please – if you do you shall get an imaginary visit from the favourite SW character of your choice, and they shall give you a big imaginary hug and an imaginary Porsche 911 Turbo! (Are the bribes enough?)**

**Stay tuned – in the next chapter fight scene shall happen! (ooh!)**


	5. Chapter 5 Sacrifice

**Chapter Five – Sacrifice**

**Hello again! Here's the next chapter, with promised action once you get over the rambling – I own neither Star Wars nor the Jedi Temple, which I am very fond of.**

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"Ouch! You stepped on my foot!" Clari hissed irately at Anakin as they steadied themselves in the darkness of the Jedi Temple.

"Well we wouldn't have to do this if you'd just taken us to Palpatine's office!" he replied, whispering through gritted teeth.

"I didn't know the co-ordinates!" she returned defensively, "And besides, I've always wanted to see the Temple properly."

"In darkness?" Even in the gloom, Anakin's sarcastic smile was visible.

"Yes, _in the dark_," she snapped, wheeling around and storming off down a long corridor.

"Umm... where are you going?" Anakin called towards Clari's retreating back.

"The hangar," she stated coolly.

"Well, I don't know where you're going, but the hangar's this way." Anakin called back, indicating with a hand up a long, graceful flight of stairs to his left. Abashed, Clari followed him meekly, losing rapidly the small amount of dignity she held.

They hurried in the darkness up the stairway and then along an enormous gallery. Everything was built to gigantic proportions – the ceiling was so high as to not be visible, and the row of closely spaced oval-shaped windows let the artificial light from the city-planet flood in across the impossibly large room. Clari lagged behind as they made their way along the impressive gallery, drinking in every detail visible in the twilight with fascination. Anakin turned, puzzled, to see her wandering a little way behind him, her head moving this way and that she stared.

"You're acting like you've never seen the Temple before – weren't you trained here?" he thought all Jedi, past, present or future, were trained in the Temple.

"Don't you listen at all? I was trained on Tatooine – it was far too dangerous to travel to Coruscant. Master Kenobi told me all about the Temple of course, but this is the first time I've been in it. If only I'd been born 30 years earlier..." she lapsed into thoughtful silence as she joined Anakin and they made their way towards another flight of stairs, and the turbo-elevators situated at the end of the gallery.

Suddenly Anakin ground to a halt, casting a puzzled but astonished look at Clari.

"What?" she asked, suspicious. Anakin shook his head, still looking her in the eye with that strange look.

"Don't you realise what you're doing?" he mused, almost in a whisper.

"I'm sorry, _what?_" she repeated in exasperation.

"Changing the future for the greater good, you said," he continued, ignoring Clari's questions, "What we're about to do, what we've already done, it'll change everything. The Empire, your old life – they'll all be gone," He surmised, before another thought came to him, "but wouldn't that create a paradox?"

"No," Clari smiled ruefully, "Time doesn't work like that. Some things you can change and some things you can't, while still keeping time safe. It's like..." she struggled to come up with an example, "you can change a decision, but you can't do anything like trying to kill another version of yourself. I doubt anyone will ever understand _why_, but there you go."

She sat down on the low, gently rising steps, admiring the Destabiliser in the half-light, "Time is..." again, she paused, casting around for the right word, "flexible. I can change the future here, and the universe won't implode – but... I can't return to the version of the time I came from, my 'world' if you like – it won't exist anymore... at least not in this universe." Clari turned away, her wild, loose brown hair covering the side of her face like a curtain.

"What do you mean, it won't exist in _this_ universe?"

Clari took a deep, calming breath, cursing curious people, before quietly responding, "It'll be lost; just what happened in another universe, another parallel universe."

Clari turned away again and Anakin nodded in understanding of both her words and her body language. This was clearly a sensitive subject, and Anakin kept silent as his mind rushed through the consequences of what she had said. Already, the 'world', the people, the places she had called home were gone forever; though she could still return to her time, it would be completely different.

"We – me and my friends – came to an… agreement," she struggled, releasing another shuddering breath as she fought to control her tears, "We decided the greater good was our aim, and there would have to be… sacrifices. My colleagues… I would never see them again… whatever happened – at least not the versions that know… me."

She turned away from Anakin fully as the tears ran freely down her face as the full force of what she was doing finally hit her. Anakin remained tactfully silent, as he thought about Clarissa and her colleagues with a newfound respect. _They were willing to do anything, to sacrifice themselves, so that we could have a better world._

"But your colleagues, they'll still be alive in the future we create," he encouraged.

"Yes, but they won't have any… memories of me, or our work. The version of me in that future wouldn't exist – my parents had me in a rush, as everyone did in the dark times of the Empire. I – as in the version of me talking you now – will still be here, of course…" Clari drifted off, Anakin becoming increasingly away of the rapidly passing time – but there was still one more question he wanted answered.

"But... why? Surely there are other things you could have done that wouldn't involve such a sacrifice?"

Clari's reply came with a rehearsed air to it, as if she had defended her mission countless times, "Think about it from my point of view – the galaxy is in the grip of endless evil, but I can save everyone, make the galaxy better – surely you can't blame me for doing almost everything to reach that goal?"

Anakin nodded, realising the truth of her words and sensing the passion with which she spoke them. Clari rose with determination in her eyes, brushing away the tears and resolutely heading towards the turbo lifts. _I have a mission to complete_, she thought, _and completing it is the only way to get my friends back, whether they know me or not._

The lift took them to the top of the central tower, where the hangar was situated – for a minute Clari had to squint in the sudden bright artificial light, after the peaceful dim light of the gallery.

When she could see, she looked across at Anakin, trying to analyse his face. As always, his mind was shielded and his expression carefully guarded; his eyes gave him away. They flitted from one spot to the other restlessly – Clari could feel his impatience, but also... almost reluctance, as if he was hesitant about betraying one of his closest friends, someone who understood him, appreciated him.

"What time is it?" he asked softly.

"It's Palpytime!" Clari exclaimed in a terrible attempt at lightening the atmosphere, before biting back her laughter as Anakin gave her a dark look, "Sorry, that was wrong. It's uhh... 1900 hours, standard time."

With a soft _ping_ and an uncomfortable feeling as Clari's stomach returned to its normal place, they arrived. Both Clari and Anakin shifted nervously as they waited for the doors to open – they were now rapidly running out of time. The elevator doors glided open; Anakin was first out, already heading for a small, two-man transport waiting on one of the landing areas. As they approached, a hatch in one of the vast walls opened, leaving a space for the area to be slid out of the hangar, projected into space.

Anakin manned the controls, partly because he was the quicker flier, and partly since Clari didn't trust herself with electronics after she fried the last hairdryer she'd used.

One short, hair-raising journey through Coruscant later, they arrived at the Senate building and Palpatine's office. The pair took another lift straight up to the Chancellor's spacious suite, hit by the contrast the Senate's sleek, modern interior made with the simple, elegant design of the Temple.

Clari worried if it was already too late to stop Palpatine, but as they ran down the corridor to the Chancellor's office, she glimpsed the vivid amethyst of Windu's lightsaber illuminating the Sith's face, the only source of light in the room. Her heart leapt with relief, but also fear: Windu wasn't dead, but neither was Sidious. She paused, hesitating; Anakin strode past her, his face set as his gaze fell upon the cowering Sith on the window ledge, the Sith who had once been his friend and mentor.

The transparisteel window had been blown out, and the bitter high altitude Coruscant wind tossed their robes, laced with the heavy scent of traffic fumes and a city-planet teeming with life. Rain sheeted down like a second pane of glass, the buildings thrown into sharp relief as lightening exploded across the sky.

"...You are under arrest, my lord," Windu was commanding as Anakin approached, brandishing his vivid purple lightsaber in Sidious's direction.

Sidious looked desperately at Anakin, fake fear in his eyes as his voice cracked and shook like an old man's, "Anakin, I told you it would come to this. I was right, the Jedi are taking over!" Anakin's determination wavered slightly – could this be true? He was silent, unsure how to proceed.

"The oppression of the Sith will never return. You have _lost_." Windu replied quickly, assured and powerful as he stood on the precipice.

"No," Sidious was almost chanting, "No. No. _You_ will die!" his face contorted as he directed a stream of Force Lightning towards Windu, who blocked it only just in time, reflecting the pure dark side energy back onto Sidious.

"He is a traitor!" Sidious shouted over the roar of the wind, the crackle of the blue lightning.

"_He _is a traitor!" Windu accused, struggling to keep his lightsaber steady.

"I have the power to save the one you love," Sidious spoke with an eerie calm, in a low voice that nevertheless carried clearly to Anakin's ears, "You must choose." The poisonous yellow eyes bored into the conflicted blue ones, Palpatine exercising the remnants of the persuasive power he had over the young Jedi.

_Choose_. The word echoed in Anakin's mind. Choice had haunted him every since he had first entered the Jedi Temple: between love and ambition, conspiracy and trust, friendship and honesty. He sensed this moment teetered on a knife-edge, the empowering and daunting feeling coursing through him that the course of history could be radically altered by his choice now. He felt lost.

As if on cue Clari emerged from the shadows where she had been concealed, sensing Anakin's confusion and distress like a beacon. She smiled timidly in the chaos surrounding them, and suddenly Anakin's mind became clear, the right course of action jumping into sudden but obvious focus.

"I have already chosen," came Anakin's reply as he and Clari drew their lightsabers, aiming them directly at Sidious, who was so astounded by Anakin's sudden change of heart, the lightning from his fingertips ceased. "I know the Sith way is evil, and must be stopped to save us all from the deception you have brought to the galaxy."

Mace Windu cast an appreciative glance at Anakin – he was relieved that at last the boy had quieted the alarming amount of fear and confusion in his mind.

Sidious, now accepting that he was on his own, was considering his options, plots and schemes running through his head. He noticed Clari, who was glaring at him with an unusual amount of malice. "And who is this?"

"I'm the Jedi who's going to finish you off, permanently," she spat, twirling her lightsaber with a smooth hum.

"Jedi scum," extending both his palms, Sidious released a powerful force push that sent Clari, Anakin and Windu flying across the room. Though winded, Clari was first to recover, springing back towards Sidious' sneering face.

Unarmed, he sat perfectly still as Clari levelled her lightsaber at his eyes.

"So, you think you're going to kill me?" Sidious jeered, his lips twisting into a cruel smile as he eyed the young Jedi before him.

"I wouldn't be so quick to mock me, if I were you." Clari countered, "I'm more skilful than you think." She gripped the hilt of her lightsaber with both hands, raising it high above her head for a powerful, clean stroke–

"No, stop!" Windu shouted to Clari, "He must stand trial for his crimes!" Clari paused, the deadly beam gently humming, suspended above her head. She stared with loathing at Sidious, whose face was strangely relaxed for a man facing imminent death, his yellow eyes glowing with smug satisfaction as if he knew exactly what would happen.

"Why would you want to kill a defenceless old man?" Sidious sneered, his startling yellow eyes glowing maliciously.

Anakin suddenly knew what this was about – Clari held Sidious responsible for the death of her friends. As the Emperor, Sidious would be the highest link in the chain, the one who would have given the order to Darth Vader – his future self – to hunt down and destroy the rebel Jedi.

"You… killed them all!" Clari's voice shook, the angry glint in her eyes showing the Sith she meant business. Sidious had no clue what she was going on about, but was nonetheless sure this woman would never strike him down – she was too good, her heart wasn't in it.

"Clari, vengeance is never the right way to solve problems," Anakin called. After a pause, Clari lowered her lightsaber, her arms dropping in defeat – she couldn't do it.

Sidious chuckled evilly, a low, haunting sound that made Clari's skin tingle, "Your compassion is your greatest weakness, child. As is your lack of perception."

Without warning, the Sith called on the force again, summoning the lightsaber held loosely in Windu's unsuspecting hand. Automatically, Mace reached out to grab his lightsaber, but Sidious sent a blast of force lightening that blasted the Jedi back across the room – the light-sword slid through his fingers and into the grasp of Sidious. Powerless, Windu could only watch as he swiped the blade at Clari, who only just managed to parry it.

With Clari caught off guard, Sidious' next blow sent her sprawling on the floor, her light blue-grey lightsaber flying out of her hand. In slow motion, it seemed, Anakin watched as Sidious, now standing, rose the stolen blade high above his head, smirking at the look of terror on Clari's face… instinctively, Anakin propelled himself across the darkened room, his vivid blue blade a protective barrier over Clari.

As the blue and purple blades clashed, Clari froze, before her reflexes kicked in and she rolled aside, force-pulling her lightsaber from where it had fallen.

Together, she and Anakin battled the Sith, while a weaponless Windu attempted to call for backup. Although there were two of them, Clari could feel they were fighting a losing battle; Sidious always seemed to have the upper hand, and all they could do was parry his powerful strokes.

Halfway through a complicated manoeuvre, Clari felt a pressure grip his throat. It was so unexpected, she faltered momentarily, before pushing the thought aside and continuing – it was probably nothing. The unpleasant sensation persisted, and soon she found herself gasping for air, the pressure still increasing. Anakin cast a worried glance at Clari, moving round to defend her as she retreated backwards.

"Stop _now_, or your friend will die." Clari heard Sidious' voice muffled behind the pounding of blood in her head and her gasping breaths. Anakin held his ground, maintaining his position between the two strangers – for Palpatine had been trying to twist his mind to his wicked schemes the whole time they had known each other, Anakin now realised – the monster had to be stopped no matter what.

Clari slumped to the floor behind him. "Release her now, Sith! Can't you see – you're going to kill her!" black spots danced in front of Clari's vision, her world shrinking to the eyes of the Sith looming over her and Anakin as she clung to consciousness.

"My young apprentice…" Sidious crooned, sighing as if with disappointment, "My son…"

In a moment of epiphany, Anakin finally understood the Sith's intentions, "I would never join you." Sidious sighed, realising Anakin's allegiance to him, the true prize of this battle was lost to him for good – he released his grip on Anakin's mysterious friend, and she collapsed, lying still as a stone.

"That is the last mistake you shall ever make." Anakin's voice was like ice, detached from the horror but still hard enough to conquer the fire of Sidious's eyes.

"I think not, child," Sidious countered, "there is only one of you, after all."

"It's the Chosen One to you," Anakin sneered, raising his lightsaber and settling into a perfect Djem So opening stance.

Sidious laughed coldly, seeming astonished that Anakin was preparing to take him on alone. With lightening speed he launched a volley of attacks at Anakin, who had to rely entirely on the force to even keep up. The duel progressed and Anakin only slipped deeper into his rigid focus, utilising his strong Djem So lightsaber fighting style against Sidious' snake-fast strikes; Anakin became frustrated – the Sith seemed to be enjoying the fight more than anything else. Desperately, Anakin let the force flow through him, sending objects flying towards his opponent – the Sith did the same, but Anakin cut them down with exact co-ordination.

Using the strength of his anger to bolster his strikes, Anakin at last felt the battle turning in his favour; complacent and unprepared for Anakin's sudden ferocity, Sidious couldn't counter his energy. Driving Sidious out into the open, Anakin jumped unexpectedly, performing a neat somersault over Sidious' head. Using all his remaining strength, he swung his blade at Sidious' neck, but met no resistance.

Even with his force-enhanced abilities, Sidious' neglected lightsaber skills ultimately couldn't keep up, and his lightsaber didn't block the strike in time. Like a knife through butter, Anakin's vibrant blue lightsaber sliced Sidious' head clean off his body, the body falling to the ground with a dull _thump_. Stunned, he froze on the spot for a long moment, almost shocked he had managed to succeed; but before long, exhaustion drained the last of his adrenaline and he fell to his knees, his lightsaber dropping out of his hand.

"Are you alright?" the voice behind him startled him; Windu was crouching in front of him, his fingers stretching out to perform a simple Jedi healing trick. Anakin let him, grateful for the transfused energy he felt flowing through him.

"I'm fine – have you been hurt?" Mace shook his head, before glancing back at Anakin's unconscious accomplice, concern and uncertainty creasing his head as he regarded the stranger.

Clari's prone form lay on the floor where she had fallen. Battle experience taking over, Anakin checked her pulse and breathing, both of which were steady, but there was nothing else he could do until she woke up.

"The back-up squad should be here any moment." Windu finished, as, right on cue, four Jedi burst through the door, lightsabers drawn. Windu nodded, indicating the situation was resolved, and they shut off their sabres. The two male figures in the group moved off to examine the various bodies of Jedi and Sith scattered around the large room; the other two moved towards them, concern on their faces at the destruction around them.

"I'm proud of you, Skywalker," Windu congratulated Anakin, the closest thing to a weary smile on his face as he looked into the younger Jedi's face. "It seems my doubts in you were unfounded – you have fulfilled the prophecy of the Chosen One and brought balance to the force, and I am sure this will be recognised by the Council."

Anakin's eyes brightened – did this mean he would be granted the title of Master? "Thank you, Master Windu."

"You have earned my trust, and the trust of everyone." Windu praised, "But who is the woman who came with you?" There was an awkward silence, as Anakin opened his mouth, wondering where to begin – but before he could speak Clari interrupted with a furious outburst of coughing, showing she had finally woken up.

Everyone clustered closer as Clari blinked her eyes open, but they were unprepared for her smile as she recognised a familiar face – none of the other masters surrounding her were still alive in her time.

"Master Ti!" the bemused look cast at her by Jedi Master Shaak Ti was hardly surprising – they knew each other in the future, but not now.

"Um... hello – do we know each other?" the Tongruta Jedi puzzled – Clari opened her mouth to reply, then reconsidering, her brow furrowing as she considered the confusing downsides to time-travel – no-one you knew had the slightest inkling of who _you_ were.

"Well, give it 20 years..." everyone was very confused, again – Clari seemed to have a gift with that – Windu giving Shaak Ti an I-don't-know-any-more-than-you-do look. They both decided to trust in the Force, as it had brought this strange Jedi to them who had helped Anakin defeat a notorious Sith lord.

"Masters, we need to get Clari back to the Jedi Temple. She appears to be delusional." Anakin observed, ignoring Clari's mortified scowl as she struggled to sit up, rubbing her throat.

"I agree," Windu's tone was authoritive – he was definitely in charge, "I know what happened here. I shall call the Jedi Council together and inform them of what transpired."

"I am carrying a message from the leaders of where I came from that will explain all of this. It is my intention to show it to the High Council." Clari's voice – sounding like she had gargled with gravel – offered from below.

"Your story can wait until morning," Master Ti offered, still regarding the new-comer uncertainly, "I feel you need rest and peace. We shall arrange a room for you in the Temple, and we can solve this mystery when you and Anakin are both rested."

"Thank you." Clari accepted, now realising how bone-tired she really was.

"Very well. We shall call for you in the morning. May the force be with you." Windu concluded.

"May the force be with you also, Masters."

Alone in a room with only the force to direct her thoughts, Clari sat, her eyes shut, savouring the peace she found in the sparsely furnished suite in the Jedi Temple. _The Jedi Temple_, she mused, _I've spent my whole life wishing to come here, and now all I want to do is sleep! _It was true, her energy had long since gone – she just wanted to fall back and sleep _forever_. Yawning hugely before wincing at her still-painful throat, she opened her eyes, her natural curiosity taking over as soon as she struggled to her feet.

The room was of a comfortable size – not too small, but not too big as to dwarf its contents – and lit softly by uninvasive spotlights in the ceiling. The room mirrored the rest of the Temple: functional, plain, but with an elegance only a centuries-old design could have. There was a very inviting-looking bed, a desk with a chair, and a large rectangular window that covered the entire length of one of the side walls. As Clari stepped up to it, the sheer height of the temple became obvious – the twinkling lights of Coruscant far below seemed a world away.

The wall next to the door was furnished merely with two doors: the first a wardrobe holding spare Jedi robes and attire, the second a small bathroom lined with mirrors. Out of them, a bleary-eyed young woman with tousled brown hair gazed back at Clari, stretching her arms and yawning for the galaxy. Clari spotted a shower and washed quickly, hoping to send her memories of the last few hours gushing down the plug hole with the water...

Climbing into the luxurious bed in some silky nightclothes she had found in the wardrobe, Clari rested her head on the soft pillow and gazed out over Coruscant, letting her mind drift. In the back of her mind, triumph roared, though it was quieted by sorrow – though she had by a miracle succeeded in her mission, the costs had been very high.

Clari felt out of place, in a time that wasn't hers, worried about the future. The Force told her to have faith, to take each challenge as it faced her, and with that thought, Clari relaxed and drifted off into sleep...

Clari was dreaming. She stood in a white space, confused for a moment as to what she was supposed to do. Then the Force nudged her – she turned around and honestly believed she had died and joined the Force. Standing in front of her were her four lost friends: Alex, Danni, Fernoda and Hannah, all smiling and welcoming her with open arms. After they had all hugged each other copiously, Clari marvelling they were still solid, she managed to choke out, "But how?"

Alex grinned, "The Force works in mysterious ways, Clari."

_Well gee thanks_, Clari thought, _that's really helpful_. "So, umm, how are you guys doing?"

After trying and failing to imitate Master Obi-Wan's masterly eyebrow, Danni jibed, "Well, apart from being hacked to pieces by Darth Vader and an army of Stormtroopers, and then obliterated from history, yeah, we're just fine, thanks."

"Don't blame yourself," Hannah chimed in, "The mission was a success, and we all knew the cost. You've created a better world."

"But still…"

"You know we are not gone forever," Alex reassured, "We are one with the Force now, as you will be when your time comes."

"And besides," Fernoda chirped, ever the hapless optimist, "It'll be fun seeing what our other selves will be like."

It seemed like they talked for hours, but finally he bleak expanse of white surrounding them was broken by a golden sun breaking the horizon.

"It's nearly time." Hannah observed, smiling sadly at Clari.

"But I can't go!" Clari squeaked.

"You have to," Danni insisted, "but we'll always be with you, as spooky little voices in your head reprimanding you for all those dirty thoughts about Obi-Wan and Anakin." Clari gasped, blushing red, before laughing with everyone else.

"Yeah whatever," Clari snorted. As one, her friends made sceptical looks at her until they all laughed again.

Subdued, Clari spoke again, "Well… bye."

"Don't say that," Alex said, everyone piling in for a massive team hug, "But good luck." The others agreed, smiling enthusiastically.

It was hard, but at last Clari left her friends, walking away into the sunrise and back to reality.

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**Yay! Evil Palpytime is dead! Hope there wasn't too much waffle in that one... The concept of Palpytime is my own creation (another random idea); and yes, I did fry a hairdryer in chemistry recently (don't ask me why we were using hairdryers in chemistry). Also, yes Alex, Danni, Hannah and Fernoda are my Star Wars obsessed friends in real life, and no, one of them's real name is not Fernoda, silly people (if you're reading, Hi guys!).**


	6. Chapter 6 Explanations

Chapter Six – Explanations (sort of) 

**Sorry I haven't been updating recently, I've been... errr... enjoying the weather (no seriously, it's been really nice lately) but I'm updating now! Thank you for the lovely reviews, readers – don't forget I could always use some more. This chapter contains a lot of explanations/waffle, in case you hadn't noticed from the chapter title; as usual, last time I checked I didn't own Star Wars.**

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Waking the next morning, Clari felt a warm, satisfied feeling glowing gently in her heart. Even if her dream had been... well, just a dream, it was clear at least that the force was trying to reward her for her efforts.

Coruscant's sun rose steadily, waking the sleeping city as Clari gradually became more alert. Basking in the sunlight streaming through the enormous window, Clari stared at the intricate patterns on the ceiling, tracing them with her eyes as she let her mind wander where it took her.

Suddenly she sat bolt upright, her heart racing. _The Destabiliser!_ How could she have forgotten? Before she and Anakin had gone to the Senate the night before Clari had hidden the Destabiliser in the hangar, meaning to retrieve it later; in all the excitement of the following hours, she had completely forgotten about it...

She dressed quickly in some of the Jedi robes in the wardrobe – since her old clothes were filthy with smoke and ash, and scarred from lightsaber marks (and the new robes were a suspiciously good fit) – and rushed out into the corridor. Closing her eyes and stretching out her awareness, Clari found a route up to the hangar, but didn't sense many people around, as it was still early. _All the better for me_, Clari thought, _less people wondering why some strange woman is sneaking around the Temple this early..._

She made it back to her room in good time, not even getting lost once – a record for her – the Destabiliser clutched safely under her arm. It seemed in her absence a droid had been, making the bed and leaving food, which Clari guzzled in less time it took to say _lightsaber_.

After fiddling with her gadget for a bit, Clari was just wondering what she was supposed to do now when there was a loud knock on the door. On the other side was a deceptively delicate-looking spritely female Jedi Knight, practically exploding with enthusiasm.

"Hi! I'm Ahsoka Tano, I was told to take you up to the High Council."

Clari nodded, relieved she had something to do again. Scooping up the Destabiliser, she followed Ahsoka into the corridor, "Hi, I'm Clari." it seemed strange to use her full, formal sounding name on someone the same age as her.

"Nice to meet you Clari! I haven't seen you before, are you new?"

Treading carefully, Clari responded, "I'm visiting – it's a long story." Ahsoka nodded, seeming disappointed she wasn't getting any potential gossip. Spying the contraption under Clari's arm she tried to get a better look, but Clari surreptitiously shifted it away from sight – the less people who knew the Destabiliser existed, the better. She tried to change the subject:

"Ahsoka...," she pondered, "Weren't you Anakin's – I mean, General Skywalker's padawan?"

"Yes," Ahsoka glowed with pride, only _seeming_ not to notice that Clari was on first name terms with her old master.

"What was he like? As a mentor, I mean." Clari pushed her, keeping Ahsoka talking.

"Honestly? I couldn't wait to be shot of that old fart," she grinned evilly, "No, he was a great teacher. It was hard, but..." It continued in this way until they got almost to the doors of their destination, when Ahsoka filled the rather awkward pause with, "So, what do the Council want to see you about?"

Clari shifted nervously, "Umm… just stuff. That happened last night." _Uh oh_, Clari realised as soon as the words left her mouth. Ahsoka's eyebrows shot up and her eyes widened greedily, sensing a scandal. "No, nothing like that! I was just doing Jedi business – fighting sith, changing history, y'know?"

Ahsoka clearly looked like she _didn't_ know, but Clari knew within a day she would become the talk of the Jedi Temple's famous gossip-mill, so there would endless speculation and rumours flying about all over the place.

At last they reached the large, comfortingly solid doors of the Jedi High Council chamber; Clari's heart rate started to increase dramatically, despite her efforts to control it.

Ahsoka felt her distress through the force and placed a comforting hand on Clari's shoulder, "Don't be nervous. Just tell them what you need to, and then it'll all be over. Good luck."

Clari nodded, grateful that at least one person here was being optimistic. Nervously, she walked towards the door – which slid open at her command – and to her doom.

Though she had been here before, she still found the space impressive. Large sheets of glass covered all the walls except where the door was, and large red chairs formed a loose semicircle before her. In said seats sat the members of the Council, staring solemnly at her with a mix of awe and suspicion.

The first in the group of 12 Jedi that Clari noticed was Anakin. He smiled encouragingly at her, a smile full of friendship and warmth. Clari felt a faint sense of triumph at how much she had managed to change him for the better – the old Anakin would never have smiled at someone he hadn't even known for a day yet. The newest and youngest of the High Council's members sat at his seat with ease; he struggled to hide his fatigue and the gaunt expression that crossed his face every few minutes – his dreams last night would almost certainly have featured Padmé at the hands of Vader, Clari mused with regret.

Moving two seats to Anakin's right, Clari's assessing eyes paused on a certain Obi-Wan Kenobi. She suppressed a smile as she surveyed the handsome young General lounging in his seat, and for a brief moment their eyes met. Clari would love to have said there was some kind of alternative-timeline echo of their padawan-master 'bond', but there wasn't. He just stared at her, stroking his beard in his trademark pose, baffled by the concoction of emotions he sensed in her. Clari speedily moved her gaze past him.

Two seats on again sat the shrivelled, wrinkled, pea-green form of Yoda. She had never met the famed Grand Master before, but his reputation was such that any Jedi would recognise him instantly. The aura of the force swirled around the tiny figure with intense power, and Clari felt humbled as Yoda stared at her with seeming x-ray vision.

Seated next to Yoda was the dark-skinned Jedi who had witnessed Clari and Anakin's fight with Palpatine the previous night. He nodded in greeting as the members of the council introduced themselves, before Yoda addressed her, "Welcome you we do, young one. From Master Windu heard we have, how defeated Darth Sidious you did. Impressed, we are, like to know more about you and why you are here however, we would."

"Thank you, Master," Clari began respectfully, treading carefully so as not to upset the Jedi's delicate rules of etiquette, "I am Jedi Master Clarissa Lihac of the Rebel Alliance. I am a traveller, sent from… the future." At this, there were gasps of shock from all gathered. Yoda, however, sat with a composed cool, staring at Clari as if trying to deduce the truth. Clari cast a look at Anakin, trying to find reassurance.

"True, is this, Skywalker?"

"Yes, Master. Clarissa has already explained everything to me," Anakin assured, "I believe her."

"Perhaps this will satisfy you about my origins." Clari offered, retrieving the Destabiliser and setting it on the floor. She then used the force to draw blinds over the windows so the natural early morning light wouldn't interfere with the hologram she was about to show them. In the dimness, Clari activated the holographic message that had embedded in the Destabiliser's memory, then stepped to one side.

The image flickered into life, showing two figures. One stood in the centre of the projection, a young man with dirty blond hair and vivid, strong blue eyes. The other person was painfully familiar – Clari's heart panged with guilt as she gazed at the translucent form of Alex. The man spoke first:

"Hello. If everything has gone to plan, I should now be addressing the Jedi High Council of the Old Jedi Order. I am Luke Skywalker of the Rebel Alliance, son of Anakin Skywalker, and behind me is my colleague Alex."

The man, Luke, paused for a moment as if sensing the unrest consuming the whole of the room he was addressing. A ripple of outrage spread around the room as all eyes turned accusingly to Anakin. Clari shrank back as the room's gaze flicked between her, Anakin and the picture of Luke. Anakin himself only had eyes for the hologram of… his son. He knew instantly that this was true – he recognised so much of his own and Padmé's features in Luke. Those uncannily pure blue eyes were shared with Anakin, as was the untidy sprawl of hair, but the delicate nose and mouth Anakin remembered tracing so many times on Padmé's face.

Before a riot could break out, Luke began talking again, silencing the room as if with a spell.

"With you now is Clarissa Lihac, the agent that we sent back to your time to complete a mission vital to the safety of the galaxy. Her task was to eradicate the dangerous evil that had been growing within the peace of the Republic for years, that everyone was blind to until it was too late – the Sith lord concealed as Chancellor Palpatine."

At this, the Council members simultaneously cast a look at Yoda, the most revered Jedi in the room. He creased his forehead in concentration, before letting out a satisfied grunt – the force had told him Luke was being truthful. The rest of the room let out the collective breath they didn't even know they had been holding.

"It was a very drastic choice to even consider time travel – believe me when I say it was our last option." the projection of the figures was suddenly replaced by a series of holographic images – the Temple in flames; a new Empire rising; the muted celebrations of the end of the war, before the harsh reality of the ruthless Empire slowly dawned on the inhabitants of the galaxy.

"We are a specialist part of the Rebel Alliance, a small organisation set up to restore democracy to the galaxy and end the reign of the evil Empire." Luke continued as the images flicked by, "Right now, in our time, we are desperate, in our darkest hour, and have taken the decision to attempt this mission as our last effort to save the galaxy. My colleague Alex can tell you more about that mission and how it was possible."

At this, Luke stepped to one side as Alex moved forwards, "Greetings, Council. To get straight to the point, the primary objective of Clarissa's mission in your time is to eradicate the threat of Darth Sidious. He was the Sith you have spent over 10 years looking for, disguised in plain sight as Chancellor Palpatine. He masterminded both sides of the Clone Wars, and last night attempted to put his plan into action to overthrow the Republic and create the dictatorship we are in the grip of now."

Alex paused, as if unsure whether to continue – she cast a furtive look at Luke, who caught her eye and nodded, "The second part of the mission was to counter the risk posed by... Anakin Skywalker." again, there were more shocked gasps and mutterings in Anakin's direction, until Alex continued hesitantly, "In our version of history, Skywalker is manipulated into becoming a Sith because of unfortunate... personal circumstances, under the heavy influence of – you guessed it – Darth Sidious. It was up to Clarissa to rectify these problems, which would then insure a lasting peace. We believe that just because Anakin turns evil in one possible future, this is not true for every future, so we believe he deserves a second chance, as should you."

The projection changed again to a large, slowly rotating image of the Destabiliser, "This mission was all made possible by the small device shown here – the Temporal Destabiliser. In simple terms, a time machine. Though in your time, time travel is still merely hypothetical, after 10 long years of experimentations and the work of some brilliant scientists, we have managed to create the working device you see before you now. Feel free to examine it if you wish, but be aware that Clarissa has orders not to let anyone else use the Destabiliser, and to destroy it when she is satisfied the mission has been completed. We do not want this technology to be abused, as that could have devastating consequences for everyone. Thank you."

"We are sure we have created more questions than we have answered, so please ask Clarissa if you have queries." Luke concluded, "We hope we have managed to obtain your support. Good luck for the future, and may the force be with you."

The image died away, and Clari moved silently back into the middle of the room, opening the blinds and scooping up the Destabiliser. The room was stonily silent, all eyes staring at Anakin once more.

"Is this true, Skywalker?" accused Master Ki-Adi-Mundi icily, "Do you have a son? Did you almost put the safety of the Jedi Order, the whole Republic at risk?"

"Be calm, Master," placated the ever-patient Obi-Wan, "Let us deal with our visitor first."

_Here we go_, thought Clari as the eyes of the council grudgingly settled on her, _this is where the fun begins_.

"How can we know that what you tell us is true? How can we trust you when you appear out of nowhere, supposedly from the future, claiming to be on 'a mission'?" Windu demanded directly, fixing her with a penetrating stare.

"Masters," Clari sucked in a deep breath as she considered her words carefully, "you can trust me because of the common ground we share – our link to the force. It can tell you that I am not a threat, the same way it tells me there is no reason to fear the long and difficult path ahead of me. I came here, to your time, leaving everything I had known forever, to assist you in creating a better, safer future for everyone. I came to help, not to hinder or trick you." The words came thick and fast as Clari rambled, trying to make the council see her point, "Anakin knows about me and my colleagues, so feel free to grill him on the subject. I think that would provide you with the assurance you need – Anakin never seems easily convinced of anything."

There was silence for a moment, before Yoda addressed Clari curiously. "Some information on the necessity of you mission and the history of your time, young Luke gave us. However, more detail to know, I would like."

"Certainly," she obliged. And so, with some difficulty Clari told them all that had happened in her history between then and when she had left – order 66, the rise of the Empire, the Resistance, and the task she and her colleagues had been assigned.

When she had finished, the room remained silent for several minutes, and Clari sensed that the council members were having an intense, but silent mental discussion. _Don't you know talking behind someone's back is rude? _Clari thought playfully, before instantly regretting it when, as one, everyone looked up at her. She prayed, but doubted, that her thoughts were private any longer.

"Forgive us, Clarissa." Offered Shaak Ti, "So, do you believe you have now fulfilled your mission?"

"Yes, Master," Clari responded after a brief pause, "I think I am satisfied the objectives of my mission have been successfully completed."

"Well, I suppose the real question now is, what next? Where do you go from here?" remarked Obi-Wan pensively.

"Obviously, my concern now is to make sure my hard work doesn't go to waste, so with your permission I would like to stay a week or so to oversee the transfer of power in the Senate."

"Yes." Mace Windu broke in, "A Chancellor-less Republic would make an easy target for the Separatists."

"No! The Separatists have all been eliminated – you keep looking in the wrong places for danger." Clari shook her head in frustration, "Sidious had powerful allies _inside_ the Senate; they're the ones that will try to seize power now."

"We need to make a decisive move to crush to the Separatist threat, to end them. Now would be the perfect time." Anakin spoke up for the first time; Clari raised an eyebrow in his direction at his choice of words.

"How, though?" speculated Master Plo Koon, before spotting Clari's sly grin, "Master Lihac, do you have a solution?"

Clari nodded to herself, the small smile still playing around her lips, "I happen to know that not long ago, Sidious sent the Separatist leaders to Mustafar." She exchanged a meaningful look with Anakin, "They are leaderless thanks to you, and will offer no resistance."

There were murmurs of excitement at the possibility of Clari's idea, and Yoda spoke the thoughts of everyone present, "To end the war, our chance this could be. Alert the Senate we must, and send out a ship to capture them before they escape, we should."

There were sounds of agreement from the rest of the council, but Mace Windu, sensing this chapter was getting far too long, moved the discussion on, "Do you plan to stay in this time permanently?"

"Me and my colleagues decided it would be best if I returned to my own time, to prevent possible... ah... complications."

Windu nodded, "It is settled then. You are dismissed." Relieved, Clari bowed respectfully before fleeing, letting out a sigh of relief as the heavy doors closed behind her.

With the air of a newsreader moving on to the next story, Windu turned to Anakin with disapproval, "Skywalker, would you care to explain yourself?"

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**To those of you who were confused about what-on-Mandalore my brain was doing with this plot-line, I hope you are slightly less confused now. Updates should be more frequent now, as this week I finished writing the whole fanfic.**


	7. Chapter 7 Destiny

**Chapter Seven – Destiny**

**Yay! Anakin and Padmé scene! I have been waiting a long time to do this...**

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"Padmé."

"Anakin!"

Anakin's heart filled with ecstasy and relief as he rushed towards his beloved wife, framed by the rose embers of the dying sun. After the Council had finished with him, Anakin had been increasingly impatient to visit Padmé – he had almost sprinted out of the Temple when his duties were finished and he was permitted to escape.

He clutched her tightly, savouring every detail of her face, her velvet brown eyes, her smell; trying to overwrite that terrible memory of Padmé on Mustafar with one far sweeter. She in turn put her arms around his waist, and soon her lips met his. Words wouldn't do – only emotion could convey their thoughts.

Suddenly Padmé broke away, clutching her bulbous stomach and sinking into a chair. Panicking, Anakin crouched next to her, "What's wrong?"

"The baby," Padmé smiled, "she moved."

"Do you need anything?" Anakin fretted, turning to call C-3PO.

"Only you," she sighed, settling herself against Anakin's chest. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, savouring the peace they had together in this brief space of their hurried lives.

"So, what were you doing that kept you away for so long?" Padmé murmured eventually.

Anakin paused for just too long, stiffening – should he tell her? _Yes,_ he answered himself, _no more secrets – she already knows something's up._

"Anakin?" It was an old habit, hard to break away from. 22 years of concealing emotions, silently tormented on the inside to appear strong to everyone else, meant that it was still difficult opening up to anyone – even his soul mate, his wife.

He met her gaze with his own, "They know," he said simply.

For a moment Padmé paled, understanding the true meaning behind his words, before regaining her composure, "And?" she pressed.

"Obi-Wan saved my skin, as usual. I haven't been kicked out of the Jedi Order, which is fortunate to say the least." Padmé nodded at him impatiently, sensing he had more to say.

"In fact, things turned out pretty well," Anakin conceded. Padmé almost gasped – Anakin was being _positive_ about something? "As it turns out, most of the Masters in the Council have had some sort of 'love interest' at some point, and they couldn't expel me even if they wanted – I'm too valuable to them. They're going to make our marriage public, and pretend like it was their idea all along – a secret union between the Jedi and the Senate."

Padmé raised her eyebrows sceptically, spotting flaws in the plan, "But... how will they explain the baby – this obviously didn't happen overnight."

Unconsciously, Padmé rested a protective hand on her bump, her delicate face creasing with worry. Anakin's steel expression softened and he put his hand on top of hers, a strong, reassuring grip, "You don't need to worry about yourself, Padmé, a cover story's already been sorted – you'll probably be briefed on it tomorrow."

She sniffed indignantly, "I'm not worried about myself – but what about the baby, will she know the truth? And my people, my job – I won't be able to work, what'll happen to them?"

"Shhh," Anakin pulled Padmé back into the safety of his embrace, stroking her long – and tonight, elaborately curled – hair back from her face. Sensing her anxiety, Anakin swiftly steered the conversation to a lighter subject, afraid of awakening the vicious Amidala temper.

"Look on the bright side – I'm free for the rest of the night. Just you and me, no worries, no hidden agendas." He smiled contentedly, his blue eyes warm and sparkling. Padmé stared back with a strange and slightly alarmed expression, like she was trying to figure him out. "What?"

"Who are you and what have you done with Anakin Skywalker?" Padmé seriously seemed like she was looking for her blaster.

Anakin's carefree laughter raised his wife's eyebrows even more, "Excuse me?" he chuckled.

"Can't you tell? You've changed, Anakin. You're... happy," she struggled to come up with the right words. She was silent for a few moments, deep in thought – Anakin waited as patiently as he could.

"There's something going on at the Temple:" Padmé stated, catching Anakin by surprise, "rumours have been flying everywhere; you didn't come here last night, even though you said you would; and now your attitude has completely changed. What happened?"

Anakin held up his hands in defence, "Look, you already know I can't say anything. It's all strictly under wraps."

Padmé eyed Anakin darkly, with the type of stare a lioness might give her prey as she hunted, "Tell me – I'm your wife! Besides, I work at the Senate, so I'll soon find out what secrets the Jedi are hiding." They glowered at each other, challenging the other to look away first. Padmé won. As usual.

Anakin sighed reluctantly, withering under her gaze – it was pointless to resist. Once again, Anakin was fiercely glad they were both in love with each other – he would be terrified to have Padmé as an enemy.

"Last night we had ... a visitor. She was here to help us, to show us the right path."

"And she showed you the right path?"

"Yes." Anakin smiled again, a triumphant smile, free from the worries that had haunted him – they now seemed like merely a bad dream. He lent down and kissed Padmé, slowly at first, but building in intensity until they were both left gasping for air.

"You clearly haven't changed that much, then." Padmé chuckled against Anakin's chest.

He pulled her back, gauging her expression, "Have I changed for better or for worse?"

"Better," she replied assuredly, "You just seem... so much less preoccupied than you were before. And look at you – you're smiling! I can count with the fingers of one hand how many times you've actually smiled properly before tonight. Say thanks from me if you see this mysterious woman another time – you're the man I married again."

There was quiet for a few moments once again, each content in the other's presence. For the first time in far too long, Padmé felt utterly devoid of worry, like an invisible but omnipresent cloud had dissipated from over her head. Her worry for Anakin and for the Republic was retreating.

Now that the pressure had been released, she felt buoyant, safe in the knowledge that Anakin would not be led astray. She had noticed small changes around her today: a few Senators mysteriously missing; a frenzy of intentionally muted activity she hadn't been privy to; strange, enlightened looks cast in her direction all day – it had taken less than this to arouse her suspicions before. And now, after discovering the truth of the recent hidden turmoil that had gripped her attention, she had a hundred questions to ask.

But now was not the right time for asking questions – they could wait for tomorrow. Instead, Padmé had to enjoy the precious time she could spend with her husband, and take care of their baby.

"Not long now," Padmé didn't even realise she'd whispered the thought aloud until she felt Anakin's low laugh rumble through his chest.

"When's the baby due?" Anakin asked curiously.

"Any day now," Padmé replied, her eyes sparkling in anticipation.

"So, what are we going to call him?"

"Her," Padmé corrected, disgruntled – she stubbornly insisted the child would be a girl, while Anakin stubbornly claimed his midichlorians told him the child would be a boy. "If it was a girl, I think Leia would be perfect. It's a Nubian name. Hmm... Leia Skywalker." She experimented with a smile. Though she had had to keep her surname as Amidala out of the need to keep their marriage secret, there was no reason their children couldn't bear the surname Skywalker – everyone would know soon enough.

"I think," Anakin began, thinking carefully, "the best name – if it was a boy – would be... Luke." He smirked suddenly, "It would at least remind him to stay on the light side of the force – the name means 'light'."

Padmé stiffened, and Anakin sighed – it seemed like they had had this argument a _lot_ lately, "I'm not having any of my children trained as Jedi warriors."

Anakin followed with his standard rebuttal, now repeated so many times it felt rehearsed, "Padmé, our children would have so much raw Force potential they could end up killing themselves if they don't learn how to control it. Besides, there's too few Jedi and too many Senators around here anyway – surely you couldn't live with the prospect of being doomed to be a politician your whole life if that was you?"

"Surely you wouldn't condemn them to be Jedi all their lives?" Padmé muttered, scowling in defeat.

"Let's worry about that when the time comes." Anakin soothed, reaching out a careful finger to smooth the creases on Padmé's forehead.

"Besides, I have more good news." Padmé was puzzled – how could their situation possibly get any better? "During the Council meeting I was stuck in all day, I was promoted to the rank of Master."

"Oh Anakin, that's wonderful!" despite not knowing much of the Jedi hierarchy system, Padmé did recognise the importance of this promotion, how it had bothered Anakin throughout the weeks beforehand.

"That's Master Skywalker, now," Anakin grinned, placing heavy emphasis on _master_.

"I'm so proud of you," she beamed, all the while trying to stifle an exhausted yawn, "Finally, all your hard work has been rewarded."

Anakin cast a meaningful glance down at Padmé's bump, "I have a feeling my troubles are just beginning..." Padmé went to mock-punch her husband on the arm but it turned more into a pat – she hadn't realised how long her day had been.

"Hmm," she mumbled something incoherent, her eyelids drooping. As she nestled closer to Anakin's heavy cloak, she muttered, "I love you, Anakin. I'm glad you're back."

"Me too," he whispered, folding his arms around her, "I love you forever, Padmé."

Padmé allowed her eyes to shut, her breathing to slow, and soon she was fast asleep, cradled in the arms of the man she loved.

* * *

"I have you at my mercy," Clari gloated theatrically at Ahsoka, who was pinned on the floor and becoming very acquainted with the glowing tip of Clari's lightsaber, "Surrender now and never spread rumours about me again, or..." she took a moment to select her terms, "be doomed to 'fresher duty for 2 months."

"Aww, c'mon, that was harsh." Ahsoka whined, struggling to her feet and raising her hands in reluctant surrender. Clari just grinned, feeling powerful.

"Rematch." Ahsoka demanded, shifting into a crouch.

"No," Clari turned away, her stomach growling, "some of us need to eat, y'know."

"Fair point." The two women trooped from the sparring room in search of food.

Clari's week at the Temple had passed quickly – there had been so much to do. She had regular meetings with the High Council, who seemed obsessed in every pointless detail of the future she originated from. She had accompanied the Jedi in ensuring the Chancellor-less Republic was kept in order – firstly to the Senate meeting where Anakin and Mace Windu presented the circumstances surrounding Palpatine's death to the galaxy, then to the series of long diplomatic negotiations that ensured peace would continue. Every day, more victorious news came back of another droid battalion dispatched to the junkyard, another peace treaty signed; before long, Master Yoda contacted the Temple to say he had captured the separatist leaders from their hiding place on Mustafar, finally to be brought to justice for their crimes – the jubilant atmosphere was inescapable, even for the restrained Jedi.

Outside of these meetings, everyone stared at Clari, though she tried to keep her head down and blend in – rumours had been starting to spread about her origins, but no one was close to the truth. Despite this, Clari had insisted on exploring the gigantic Temple, and on this Ahsoka had tagged along, seeming to find Clari's astonished gasps hilarious. After this, Ahsoka seemed to follow her everywhere – no doubt looking for a good bit of gossip or information to add to the Temple's famed rumour-mill. Of course, Clari wasn't allowed to say anything, but this didn't discourage Ahsoka one bit – she instead resorted to blackmail, stalking and death-threats if necessary.

Clari laughed it off, but Ahsoka still held one major bargaining chip – she was suspicious of Clari's 'attitude' towards Obi-Wan – whenever they met accidentally, a strange look came into her eye, and Ahsoka was determined to find out what it was. When she was persuaded into divulging her theory, she was proven at least partly right by Clari's blushing reaction; deciding desperate times called for desperate measures, Clari had challenged Ahsoka to the duel that had just concluded with Clari the victor – Ahsoka was forbidden from ever mentioning her 'theory' to anyone, on pain of severe embarrassment.

Clari ate her food broodingly, then directed her steps towards the solace of the Archives, where she knew Ahsoka would become too bored to follow her.

Housed within the Temple, the Jedi Archives is the single greatest library in the Galactic Republic – it holds detailed information collected over many millennia concerning every explored planet in the galaxy. Like all libraries, there was an atmosphere that ensured silence – exactly what Clari needed now. While pretending to study a holographic star chart, she carefully picked apart her worries one by one, seeking a resolution for each before continuing – her future, her friends, the safety of democracy...

"Clari!" she was so deep in her reverie, it took a few seconds before she even realised someone was calling her name. Blinking and looking around, she spied the figure of Anakin running towards her. She rose, alarmed.

"What is it?" she hissed, trying to stay quiet.

"I've been looking all over for you! I've got some brilliant news – Padmé's had twins!" Anakin rejoiced loudly – several eaves-dropping Jedi were watching them keenly, and the hurried footsteps of the feared Librarian Madam Jocasta could be heard not far away.

"Shh Anakin, the whole Temple – full of _Jedi_ – can hear you." Clari towed Anakin out of the Archives – muttering darkly about peace in libraries and the lack of respect for afore-mentioned concept – and demanded an explanation.

"Padmé's given birth to twins – Luke and Leia. She wants to meet you." The smile on Anakin's face was, for once, completely genuine – where it met his eyes it made them soft, glowing with happiness.

"Me?" Clari squeaked, incredulous.

"Come on, she's waiting!" this time it was Anakin's turn to drag Clari up to the hangar, where a shiny black airspeeder was waiting.

Clari's thoughts were still whirling frantically inside her head as she was pulled along the hospital corridor. She saw Anakin aiming for a discrete door some 10 metres away – no doubt leading to the private room Padmé was privileged with – and panic gripped her throat. Digging her heels in, she forced Anakin to a stop, "Anakin, I – I don't even know – I just – why would she – I don't understand – what am I supposed to say?"

Anakin sighed impatiently, "Come on, Clari – it's only Padmé. What's she going to do?"

"Bite my head off?" Clari muttered forebodingly, but Anakin was already opening the door and pulling her through.

The room was painted a soft sky blue and furnished with a bed and chairs, unobtrusive medical equipment surrounding it. The small window allowed early afternoon sunlight to spill in upon the occupants of the room. Assessing the new arrivals with tired eagle's eyes was Padmé, propped upright in the small hospital bed. She smiled at them, motioning Clari and Anakin to keep quiet – the sounds of tiny breathing could be heard as the twins slept in a small cot by Padmé's bed.

"Hi," Anakin whispered, kissing her cheek softly before perching in the closest chair, "this is Clari." Clari only felt more awkward in the couple's presence; Padmé addressed her with interest.

"So, you're the mysteriously appearing Jedi?" Clari hesitated, before nodding tightly. Padmé saw her reaction and turned to her husband, mock scorn in her voice, "Anakin, she looks terrified – what did you tell her about me?" Anakin made no reply, and Padmé winked conspiratorially at Clari, "I'm not so scary, it's him you have to watch."

It was now Clari's turn to speak, but she didn't know how to begin – how should she address Padmé? Clari decided to go with the safe option, "Senator Amidala... I'm confused as to why you wanted me to come here – it's just that I don't know you and this can't be the right time-"

Padmé raised a hand, cutting Clari off, "Firstly, you can call me Padmé. Clari – isn't it? – I wanted to see you to say thanks. This is going to sound clichéd, but it's true – this last week I had the feeling something terrible was going to happen, a disaster that you averted. On behalf of all the galaxy, thank you for saving my husband and the Republic."

"Umm... don't mention it." Clari stuttered, taken aback by Padmé's theatrics. The weight off her chest, Padmé let Clari duck out soon afterwards, leaving the couple in peace.

Stuck in an unfamiliar part of Coruscant's upper class area with nothing to do and nowhere to be, Clari took pleasure in wandering. Despite being alone, no one bothered her – her Jedi robes and the lightsaber at her belt ensured only awed gazes of respect came her way.

As the sun crossed Coruscant's sky, Clari enjoyed her last day with the secure here-and-now feeling; tomorrow was to be the day that she left for the murky unknowns of a new future, a new life. Time raced past, as it does for all those dreading those dreading an obstacle on the horizon, and all too soon Clari was catching a high-speed shuttle back in the direction of the Temple.

Viewing the Temple in daylight from a distance, it was easy to see why the institution was revered around the galaxy, admired as one of Coruscant's finest structures. Its sheer scale was uncomprehendable – it towered above the surrounding district, several times higher than even the tallest skyscrapers. The cube-shaped stone edifice was punctuated by an entrance on each of its four sloping sides, five towers shooting up to touch the sky – Clari's eye was drawn towards the outer spire that housed the Jedi High Council chamber, where her role here had all started.

Having no meetings to attend or people to see, Clari navigated her way straight to her borrowed room, distracted, avoiding the glances of the Jedi who passed her. She passed the rest of the evening in deep meditation, before trying and failing to get some sleep.

* * *

**A very nice chapter to write, particularly the first bit *****warm fuzzies*****. Anywho, please leave me a review of what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8 Future

**Chapter Eight – Future**

**Much shorter chapter now, after the last two leviathans...**

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"So, big day today, huh?"

"Uh-huh." It was all Clari could get out in response to Anakin's question – there seemed to be a lump in her throat that blocked coherent speech. They were both hovering outside the Council room, waiting for the session to start that would result in Clari leaving for good. There was an awkward silence, and Clari fingered the Destabiliser (it never left her side now), until Obi-Wan joined them unexpectedly.

"Hi, you two – I don't suppose you've seen my lightsaber, have you?" they both shook their heads, a slight vindictive smile forming on Anakin's lips.

"Ahsoka." Obi-Wan grumbled – Anakin's grin grew wider with something like _pride_.

"Obi-Wan, could you at least _try_ to keep hold of your lightsaber for _more_ than a day at a time? That weapon is your life." Anakin preached smugly, quoting his old master's words back at him.

"_Ahsoka_." Obi-Wan cursed again, using the word like an expletive.

"I would try somewhere on the south side of the roof – I saw her sneaking around there yesterday." Clari offered compassionately, the only one present who was inclined to be _nice_ to Obi-Wan lately.

"Thank you. You're Clarissa, am I correct?" Clari nodded, watching him as his arms crossed without conscious thought, his hand stroking his beard in his trademark 'deep in thought' pose, "I haven't had the chance to ask you before now, but I am curious – just how did you manage to retrieve Anakin from his brush with the dark side?"

"Oh force," she groaned, "that is a long story. Let's just say I talked some sense into our favourite almost-a-Sith-lord, and showed him some... evidence of his actions." This evasive answer was apparently all Obi-Wan was going to get out of Clari; his other probing questions were cut short by the addition of Ahsoka, who skipped up to them innocently.

"Hey Clari, Anakin, Master Kenobi!" she greeted them still more innocently, turning on her charm for the glowering Obi-Wan, "I heard this was your last day with us, Clari – I came to say goodbye."

Clari was touched, "Aww, thanks Ahsoka. You've been a great... friend – good luck for the future."

Ahsoka snorted, "I think you'll need the luck more than I do."

"Hmm – I'm not so sure. Obi-Wan looks like he's out for blood." At Clari's casual remark, the three turned to regard Obi-Wan, who was looking at Ahsoka with a capable-of-murder-with-a-blade-of-grass sort of look. His livid eyes bored into Ahsoka, who opened her eyes wide in mock horror.

"Who, me? I only did it for a bet – your lightsaber won't be _that_ hard to find, honest."

Sensing Obi-Wan might do something rash, Clari backed away slowly; Anakin, more experienced in these types of situations, backed away quickly.

"Is he always like this when Ahsoka pranks him?" Clari stage-whispered to Anakin.

"Not usually – I think Snips hit a nerve this time." He replied, glee in his voice. It was true – Obi-Wan was behaving strangely: his face was red, deepening to purple, his jaw twitching sporadically and his fingers curling into claws at his sides. It seemed Kenobi was having his own brush with the dark side.

Thankfully, Ahsoka decided to retreat, "I should go before he does something he'll regret later. Bye Clari, see you around, Skyguy!" she nimbly darted away; Clari heard peals of laughter echoing back down the corridor.

"Skyguy," Clari repeated through muffled giggles, "she calls you Skyguy? I _so_ have to do that!"

_Not you as well_, Anakin thought. Seeing Obi-Wan's face turning puce and his eyes darting feverishly, Anakin began to get concerned, "Should we do something?"

Clari walked up to the ever-infallible Jedi General, snapping her fingers in front of his face. No response. "I think so – that colour he's going doesn't look healthy."

"Someone should slap him."

"Skyguy, are you _enjoying_ this?"

"Meh, a little."

Clari, disgusted, turned her back on Anakin, "Master Kenobi, can you hear me?" Still nothing. Shrugging, Clari aimed a slap across the Jedi's face. The effect was immediate – Obi-Wan jumped into the air like he had been given an electric shock, coming back to himself at once.

"Welcome back. Dang it, someone should have caught that on video." Clari sighed wistfully.

Anakin snickered, "I think Snips just did."

There was a loud cry of, "THIS ONE'S GOING ON THE HOLONET!" as Ahsoka made another dash for freedom.

"Why, that little..." Obi-Wan growled, "Anakin, you created a monster when you trained her."

"I'm sorry, who was it that gave me the padawan in the first place-"

"Gentlemen!" Clari broke in, "If you've quite finished, I believe we have a Council meeting to attend."

Obi-Wan _hmph_ed and stalked off into the Council room, Anakin and Clari following close behind, "Pardon us, Masters," Anakin said – they were late, it seemed, "Obi-Wan was having a nervous breakdown." The other Jedi peered curiously at Obi-Wan, who ignored them as he hurried to his seat, muttering sinisterly about revenge.

"Finally arrived, the day has, yes." Master Yoda began solemnly, "Accomplished, everything has been – smoothly, the transfer of power did flow."

The other masters and Clari nodded in agreement – during the week Clari had stayed alliances had been forged, power shifted, new leaders elected, all under the watchful gaze of the Jedi, who had kept the peace.

"Thank you for your assistance, Clarissa," Anakin spoke, "I think all of my colleagues and I would agree with me that you have been an invaluable help to us all."

"Master Skywalker is correct," seconded Windu, before getting down to business, "I trust you are ready to depart?"

Clari responded in the affirmative – she had hardly brought anything with her anyway.

"What is your destination?" queried a now-composed Obi-Wan.

"This chamber, exactly 21 years in the future... I think..." Clari replied.

Master Ki-Adi-Mundi gave her a surprised look, "You think?" he echoed, "What is not certain?"

"Um... just about everything," Clari confessed, "Time travel isn't an exact science, and particularly as we didn't quite finish all the testing, there are so many things that could go wrong if the calculations are only slightly out."

"Well, your device seems to have been working fine before," Anakin piped up naively, "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Please don't ask me that question." Clari groaned, burying her face in her free hand. As one, the Council winced.

"Yes," Yoda's brow crinkled in thought, "Prepare a message we will, for the future Council. Explain, we shall, your circumstances."

"Thank you, Master." Clari was grateful – that was one less time she would have to go through her story, at least. Pulling out the Destabiliser one last time, she sighed.

"Great sadness I sense in you." Yoda commented.

"It's just... I've become quite attached to this time..." Clari drifted off, trying to keep her eyes off the young, handsome Obi-Wan.

Yoda's frown deepened, "A bad emotion for a Jedi, attachment is. Attachment leads to greed, greed leads to power, power leads to fear, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to _suffering_."_ Let me guess, that leads to the dark side? _Clari speculated mentally; sure enough, she was proven right. "A path to the dark side, that is."

"Yes Master." She replied obediently, before busying herself with the controls of the Destabiliser.

"Good luck." Obi-Wan broke the uncomfortable silence; his words were echoed around the room by Anakin, Yoda and the rest of the council.

Clari put on a brave smile, "Here's to a bright new future!" she hit the final button on the time travel device, the gently humming blue bubble of light once more expanding to cover her. "Good luck to all of you in maintaining the peace. Just... make sure Anakin doesn't turn to the dark side again before I get back."

Anakin smiled ruefully, "We will try."

The bubble surrounding her crackled with energy; Clari sensed she only had seconds left. She met the eyes of Anakin and Obi-Wan, nodding in farewell – they returned the gesture.

"May the Force be with you, Council." With a thunderous crack and a sudden flash of light, she was gone.

* * *

**Ahh, Ahsoka pranks are so fun to write – especially when their subjects are (usually) unflappable Jedi like Obi-Wan! Next chapter is the last chapter, people. No, don't get out the tissues yet...**


	9. Chapter 9 Home

**Chapter Nine – Home?**

**Last chapter – congratulations are in order if you got this far! And now, a lovely, tie-all-the-loose-ends-off chapter to finish. Happy 2011!**

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The journey, this time, was different. Instead of the crystal clear speed of the past where events were certain, Clari's travel into the recently altered future was slower and took more effort on the Destabiliser's part – it grew hot and shuddered in Clari's grasp. Her vision was again filled with a bizarre myriad of colours, but these too were different from what she had experienced before; the images still were not clearly identifiable, though in a different way. Instead of the scenes speeding past too quickly to see, they were blurry and undefined, only becoming distinct the millisecond before they moved on.

Fighting the disorientation in her head, Clari urged her little creation onward – soon enough she began to pick up speed, racing towards their destination. It was exhilarating, but she was still accelerating. Would she stop in time?

Through the swirls of ambiguous future Clari sensed her destination fast approaching. Alarm bells started to ring in her head – still too fast! She squeezed her eyes shut, praying she wouldn't end up as a red streak on the Council floor –

With a deafening crack, and a jolt that would have sent her eyes flying out of her head if she hadn't closed them, Clari landed, crashing violently to the floor.

At the shocked silence surrounding her she opened her eyes, and became worried – she had materialised in the council room again, but on first glance it looked identical to when she had left. Her fears, however, were alleviated when she saw the people, or more accurately, the differences in the people who stared at her compared to those that had been regarding her five minutes ago – or was it 21 years? Yes, it definitely looked like time had moved on. Sighing internally in relief, she noticed from the corner of her eye a hologram fading, no doubt the promised holorecording from the Council 21 years prior.

"Another happy landing." Clari commented dryly from the floor where she was still sprawled – her head swam too badly to even think about standing up yet.

"Welcome back, Clarissa." A deep voice spoke behind her, another that she could have easily confused with a person from her timeline. She turned, and perceived the speaker as a grey-haired Obi-Wan, looking remarkably like the Jedi she had been taught by, not so long ago in a timeline now far too far away – if less weathered – with an older Anakin seated on his right.

Clari bowed respectfully to the assembled Masters, with a much dignity as she could manage in her dizzy, shocked state, halfway through rising from the floor, "What year is this?"

"21 years exactly after you left us," Anakin replied; Clari smiled widely – the Destabiliser hadn't failed her. She bent down to proudly pick up her time travel device, but at her touch warning alarms sprang up all over the holographic screen, beeping spewing furiously from it as its systems overloaded. Then, with a last pathetic toot and a mournful puff of acrid smoke, the Temporal Destabiliser faltered and went dead, never to reawaken.

"Blast – it burnt out." She stretched out a tentative hand, and before long was opening up the innards of the box. There was nothing but a mangled mess of melted wires, fuses and electrical components – it was broken beyond any possible hope of repair. Clari sighed, lamenting the loss of her last reminder of her time, "Well, that saves me a job, at least."

She had been talking to herself, so was startled when she heard a response from one of the Jedi around her, "Whatever do you mean?"

"When I had finished using the Destabiliser I was given orders to destroy it," she replied after a brief silence, looking up, "for the obvious reasons – the consequences would be disastrous if this technology got into the wrong hands." For Clari, the terror of the damage her Destabiliser could potentially inflict rose like a dizzying cliff in her mind; so did the idea of personally taking her lightsaber to the thing she and her friends had spent an age working over. She knew such emotions were corruptive to the mind of a Jedi – but despite her tireless efforts, these feelings could not be overcome. Perhaps there was only so much you could do to deny your own thoughts and emotions.

Wrapped in her reverie, Clari only heard the closing end to Obi-Wan's speech "...we have orders from our predecessors to make our newest addition to the Jedi Order as settled as possible," he was saying – obviously for her benefit – gesturing to the place where she had seen the holorecording vanish. "I think," Obi-Wan leaned forward in his seat, resting his chin on his fingers, expression thoughtful, "now that we have seen Clarissa safely arrived, we should reconvene tomorrow when she has had a chance to be briefed – if everyone is in agreement?"

The council murmured in agreement, and soon everyone was rising, heading for the door. Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged a silent conversation – they looked more like brothers that ever, Clari noted as she watched them with her peripheral vision – until Anakin nodded once and moved to fall into step by Clari as they made their way back down into the main body of the Temple.

"Long time no see." Anakin began, laughing as he saw Clari's face, twisted into a painful expression as she tried to wrap her head around the idea. To her, she had only been gone five minutes; to him, she had been gone 21 years. "I trust your journey went without any problems?"

"Oh, yes." Clari smiled sarcastically, "It was just as smooth as usual." They stepped out of the turbo-elevator and parted from the other Masters, who were still regarding Clari as some sort of impossible figment of their imagination.

"Would you like me to show you your new quarters?" Anakin offered obligingly. Clari nodded in reply, too wary to navigate the infamous maze of the temple unaided. Besides, this was also provide her with an opportunity to get up to date with everything that had happened during her absence.

Anakin led the way, Clari having to slow her pace slightly to match his – clearly, he was not the young man he had once been. Clari decided to open the conversation with a millennia-old technique, as clichéd as commenting on the weather, "So, how have you been getting on?"

He shrugged in reply, "Good, I s'pose. As you can see, I haven't turned back to the dark side yet, just as I promised." His face crinkled with amusement, but took no notice of Clari as she regarded him critically.

Time, it seemed, had been kind to Anakin. He was now aged 43, but one wouldn't automatically presume that to be true – only the wisdom in the depths of his ever brilliant azure eyes showed his true age. The shadows of stress under his eyes were gone, smile lines taking their place: his air was one of a man balanced in the Force. It was evident from the nods of respect of those that passed them that he had matured somewhat over the years, and earned the high opinion of his fellow Jedi, not just for being the Chosen One.

Clari waited until they had reached her new permanent rooms in the Knight's quarters before she started probing Anakin with curious questions, keen to avoid the excited stares and whispers that seemed to be following her. She wondered how long it would take before she would have to practise her door-barricading skills.

As she stepped over the threshold of the small apartment, Anakin caught the tone of her mind and chuckled. "You can't blame them for being curious, Clari. After all, you have become a bit of a legend – crazy, mysterious, saviour of the Republic and all that…"

Clari put on her 'modest' face, "That's not right – it wasn't all me."

"Nonetheless…" Anakin let the unspoken words hang in the air between them, indicating to himself; what would have happened if and after Anakin had become Darth Vader. Clari pushed the thought, and where it would have ultimately led, out of her head – she had done far too much wallowing lately as it was.

To Clari's horror, Anakin continued, "This isn't the worst of it – I expect soon you'll have a whole glorious day with the politicians who's precious Republic you saved," groaning, Clari put her head in her hands, mumbling something faintly about a 'happy face' – there was nothing she hated worse than being the centre of attention.

After she had pulled herself together, Clari began her quest for knowledge, "So, what did I miss?"

Anakin considered his answer before he spoke, "In brief, very little. The peace has held, with only a few difficulties along the way – after the Clone Wars ended it was our job to mop up the remnants of the Separatists and the… surprises Sidious had left for us." Anakin winced, and Clari wasn't so sure if she wanted to know what those 'surprises' had been, "That was when we lost Master Windu." Clari's eyes widened, remembering Windu's absence from the High Council – it must have taken quite something to bring down the best Jedi swordsman in the galaxy. "Since then, it's been quiet – too quiet for my liking."

Clari snickered at his pained expression, "Good to know." Her forehead creased as she remembered another conspicuous absence from the Council, fearing the worst, "What about Master Yoda?"

Anakin offered a reassuring smile, "Nothing to worry about – he retired from the Council." He mock-looked around himself for eavesdroppers, snorting contemptuously, "Yoda's getting on now, he thought he'd let some 'young blood' take control of the Order."

Clari raised a suspicious eyebrow, wary of Anakin's reaction, "So, who did the Council appoint as the new Grand Master?"

"You're never going to believe it," Anakin muttered sarcastically, "Obi-Wan."

Restraining herself from doing a victory dance right there and then, Clari watched Anakin's face, analysing it for any hints of the jealousy his younger self would have felt acutely.

"What do you think about it?" Clari probed, keen to find the limits of his maturity.

Anakin shrugged, "He was the best candidate for the job, being such a model Jedi and all." His eyes sparkled slyly, "To be honest, I don't envy him – I don't think Obi-Wan's got a proper night's sleep since he got the job."

There was a pause as Clari chewed her lip, deciding whether to ask her next question, "How have things been with... Padmé... and the twins?"

Anakin sighed, "Variable." Clari felt pity for Anakin – it couldn't have exactly been easy, bringing up children while still trying to stay on good terms with the Jedi Order. "When mine and Padmé's marriage was first announced, the Order was in uproar – I was surprised the Council didn't kick me out after all. Things got... easier the first few months after the twins were born – Padmé had to quit most of her duties as a Senator, but we stuck to the cover story we had been given and everything seemed to be all right.

"When the twins got older, that was when the problems really started. You see, I wanted Luke and Leia trained as a Jedi, Padmé didn't, and the Order would have preferred if they didn't exist at all – the argument went on for weeks. Eventually, we agreed a compromise: the twins would go through the basic training at the Jedi Temple – it would be dangerous if they hadn't – and then they would be offered the choice to continue their Jedi studies and become a Padawan, or to 'pursue other interests'." A proud smile tilted Anakin's lips, "Luke chose to stay with the Order – he's just been knighted – but Leia followed her mother into the grand and mystical world of the Senate."

"Do you see them often?" Clari queried – with the strict non-attachment rule the Jedi had, normal Force-adepts were separated from their parents at a very young age, but would this apply to the Skywalker twins? She suspected not – they had broken just about every other rule in the book so far.

"Not as much as I would have liked. They've both become quite independent, so I'm not sure they would appreciate their dad stalking them."

The relaxed atmosphere was suddenly broken by a shrill beeping from the comm on Anakin's wrist. He answered the call, and Obi-Wan's voice, made tinny by the speaker, instantly began scolding him.

"Anakin, where are you? You do realise your youngling class started five minutes ago." His voice was muffled, and indistinct activity could be heard in the background, mixed with the screams of excited children.

"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan – I lost track of time."

Obi-Wan had to raise his voice to be heard amongst the incessant noise around him, "Just get down here – it looks like a war zone already!"

As Anakin touched his wrist to end the transmission, his face turned pale and he gulped; Clari snorted, speaking commentator-style, "Next up on 101 ways to kill a Jedi: the Chosen One vs. 20 younglings. But who will win? There's only one way to find out – fiiiiight!"

"Stop mocking me," Anakin scowled, "This is serious."

"Of course," giggled Clari, playing along, "Don't worry Anakin – you're only facing an imminent and painful death. It's no worse than usual."

"Well," Anakin rose and moved to the door, rolling his eyes heaven-ward, "I should go – I'll see you around, Clari."

"Yes, see you around," Clari raised her hand in farewell, "If you survive..." she added mock-menacingly. Chuckling, Anakin left, the door sliding closed behind him.

* * *

One hour later, and Clari found herself uncharacteristically bored. The truth of the matter was she had exhausted her already small list of tasks, and her stomach was growling irritably.

Emerging into the corridor, she walked swiftly to the closest turbo-lift – it was mercifully empty. Following her supposed route to the cafeteria, she wandered around, preoccupied with avoiding the occasional curious glance.

Like a subtle itch in the back of her mind, Clari gradually realised that something was out of place. After getting herself thoroughly lost and disgruntled, Clari gave up and headed to another handy turbo-elevator. She berated herself for wasting time by losing her way – though it wasn't exactly hard, even for the veteran residents of the Temple.

This was down to the fatal design flaw of the Temple – the architect who had designed it in the first place had seemed more concerned with appearances than practicality. As a result of this, only a limited number of corridors were able to access the cafeteria, and it was hard work finding them.

Internally cursing at forgetting this, she stormed into the elevator; it already had an occupant, and Clari moved to stand inconspicuously against the back durasteel wall. Her companion, however, had different ideas.

"Hey, are you Clarissa Lihac?" At the sound of the speaker's voice, the small creature in Clari named recognition stirred sleepily, like an animal emerging from hibernation – confused but curious.

"Yes," she sighed, resigning to the torrent of questions she wasn't sure if she was allowed to answer, while examining the floor with great interest.

"Wow." Thankfully, her companion said little else on the subject – she evidently wasn't the sort who was only interested in the reputation of a person, "What were you doing at the Databank?"

"Oh, was that where I was?" Clari replied, raising her eyes to meet the stranger's. A thrill struck her like lightning, freezing her in place: it was Alex. At first, Clari wasn't quite sure if she could believe her eyes – Alex looked almost exactly the same as she had the last time Clari had seen her. It was as if she had been plucked directly from Clari's memories.

Or, not quite – there were a few notable changes between the curious young woman in the lift and the determined leader facing certain death, from that hologram that now seemed a galaxy away. Most notably, the prominent shadows and lines of stress that had hung under the eyes of the woman in Clari's memory had vanished, replaced with cheeks glowing with health. A more subtle change Clari picked up was her posture: this Alex leaned casually against the durasteel, beating out a slow rhythm on her arm with her fingers; the Alex from her memory had had a lithe, panther-like grace, the result of a life as a rebel warrior. In the rest, they were identical - from her tall, gangly frame, to her tanned, open face framing warm hazel eyes, "Alex!"

"Yes," she said with some surprise, taking in Clari's bewildered look, "How do you know my name?"

Clari avoided the question, "Actually, I'm a bit lost, do you know the way to the canteen?"

"Of course," Alex smiled, "I'll take you there, if you like." Clari accepted without hesitation.

15 standard minutes and a plate of Jedi 'delicacies' later, Clari was sure she had found her first friend in this new, strange time. "I've never really thought seriously about having a Padawan," Alex was saying, chewing thoughtfully on the remains of her food, "I'm still quite new to all this knight stuff."

"I think you'd make a good teacher." Clari offered, realising a second too late that she had said the wrong thing.

Alex put down her fork, scrutinising Clari, "Why do you keep saying things like that? You still haven't answered my question - how do you know my name? I don't know..." she struggled for words; Clari stared at her food, "It's like - I've only just met you, but you seem to know me so well!"

"Alex," Clari sighed, "I have known you for 10 years."

"But... that's impossible!" Alex gasped, stating the obvious like it gave her strength, "You haven't even been here one day!"

Clari smiled grimly, "I'm a time traveller, remember? Nothing is impossible."

"You're crazy." Alex shook her head in disbelief.

"Couldn't agree more," Clari grinned peevishly, rising from the table.

"No, wait! Don't go," Alex threw out a startled hand, "It's just that I don't understand."

Clari _hmmed _in acknowledgement, "Yes, I would probably make more sense if you knew the whole story."

"So tell me it, then."

"I'm sorry – I don't think I can."

"Please? You can trust me – I won't tell anyone." Something in Alex's gaze told Clari she was speaking the truth.

Clari wavered for a moment – she was sure she could trust Alex, but wasn't so sure if Alex would actually accept her story. _Be daring_, the Force told her. "Fine, I'll tell you – but not here. There are too many people _eavesdropping_ already." She said , eyeballing the woman on the next table, who was so engrossed in listening to their conversation that her hand was frozen halfway to her mouth.

"I know the perfect place." Alex beckoned, leading Clari away from the bustling cafeteria.

* * *

"Well, where do I start?"

Alex had predictably led her to an undisturbed corner of the Archives; they sat cross-legged on the floor, like expectant younglings waiting to be told a story. Clari leaned back against the embellished durasteel shelf, Alex mirroring her position across the aisle. Staring at the elegant tiled floor that stretched between them, a wave of isolation surged over Clari. Just like now, only a metre but a sea of tiles away from Alex, she would never be on quite the same level as everyone else. She would always be the outsider, the anomaly, never quite fitting in – at the thought, she felt sadness prickling in her eyes. She rubbed a hand against them, surprised when her hand came away wet.

Noting Alex looking at her curiously, she mentally shook herself and re-gathered her scattered thoughts.

"Where would you like to start?" offered Alex, hungry for information.

"The beginning?" After a brief pause, Clari cleared her throat dramatically then began the tale of her adventures through time, space and male hormones. When Clari was younger, she had read books where a character spilled their darkest secrets to someone close – they had described it like a weight lifting off their head. Clari had then dismissed it as hyperbole; now she wasn't so sure. Her tale in full flow and trusting Alex to accept it, she felt light and free, more content and secure than she had felt in a long while.

They were undisturbed all throughout the time Clari rambled, the only exception the faint hum of the millions of luminous data-pads surrounding them. There was a charged pause after Clari let her words reach their natural conclusion – Clari looked at Alex nervously. The pulsing blue light from the data-pads on the shelves cast strange highlights across their faces, picking out Alex's – surprisingly – relieved expression.

"So there's, like, a parallel version of me, that you know?" she asked – Clari nodded wearily, not being able to muster the energy for more speech.

Neither could think of anything to say – Alex was silent for longer than usual as she ran through Clari's story. Eventually, Alex's face split into a wide grin.

"So, let's get this straight – you find this weird because I'm so similar to the me you knew before?" Clari nodded cautiously in reply, wary of the excited glint in Alex's eye. At this, Alex rose, beckoning to Clari before walking off, expecting Clari to follow. Her curiosity sparked, Clari hurried after Alex as she darted between the shelves.

"Where are we going?" Clari whispered – out of habit, there was no one around – but Alex stubbornly refused to reveal her scheme, saying only that it would make Clari's life 'a whole lot weirder'.

Stunned into silence, Clari paused – how could her life physically get any weirder? Alex was still walking, turning the corner out of sight; Clari shook herself out of the reverie she had sunk into, and ran after her friend. Putting on an extra burst of speed as she rounded the corner, Clari caught hold of Alex's arm, tugging her to a stop.

"_Where are you taking me?_"

Alex met her eyes, before nodding over Clari's shoulder, "Here."

Confused, Clari turned around. They had reached a clearing in the towering forest of shelves, lit by shafts of light that spilled through wide, high windows. Before Clari were a small group of table – true to the style of the Temple, a single table could fit at least 20 people around it. A slanted column of light fell on the closest table, illuminating the six Jedi who sat around it. Clari looked back at Alex, perplexed, but Alex just smiled knowingly, and moved past Clari towards the table.

Clari followed, until she could see more clearly what the Jedi were doing. They were playing cards – each had five small piles of cards in front of them, and another, larger pile face down beside them. The Jedi, mainly women of around Clari's age, were talking, laughing and as Clari watched, an order was called out by someone and the game began. It was strange to look at: a kind of mad rush of stacking cards, all done using the Force. In a sudden flash of nostalgia, Clari remembered playing an identical game called Tug as a padawan – the objective was to get rid of all your cards on one of the piles in front of each player, and then try to move the smallest pile over to you, again using the Force.

Coming back to the present, Clari saw the exact same thing happening now: one of the card piles was hovering a few centimetres above the surface of the table, jerking erratically as it was pulled in several directions at once.

Watching their faces with interest, Clari was suddenly sent staggering by the unexpected power of the realisation that had hit her – these faces were familiar, painfully familiar.

For a brief moment Clari's mind cleared, and it was like her thoughts and everything around her jumped sharply into focus; Alex turned hopefully towards her, her face standing out with the other faces of Clari's long lost friends, like purely held notes in a tumultuous cacophony of sound. Lightheaded in disbelief and wonder, Clari's stunned brain finally put names to faces: Danni, perceptive blue eyes, open, emotive face; Hannah, large spills of wild mahogany curls, spidery, agitated hands; Fern, wide, naive eyes, brow furrowed as she focused her attention on the floating cards.

The other three Jedi Clari didn't recognise. No, correction, one of them she had known – Lesa Starfall, a young force adept Clari had befriended during her time on Yavin 4.

Suddenly, there was a sharp ripping noise, and the floating stack of cards exploded in a flurry of ripped paper.

"Danni!" the chorus of riled voice filled the air, bringing Clari back from her thoughts.

"Why does everyone look at me whenever this happens?" Danni protested, shaking debris out of her hair.

"Usually because you cause it." Chimed in Alex, taking an empty seat at the table, before looking back at Clari, "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Clari."

Clari felt herself step forward from the shadows, as seven pairs of eyes turned to stare at her. Hannah spoke first, "Is that Clari, as in Clarissa Lihac, the time-traveller?"

"Yes." Clari struggled to find her voice – her old friends were here, all here!

"Ooh, new person!" Sang Danni happily, breaking the unfilled pause. Clari sat down nervously next to Alex.

Hannah shrugged, ignoring her friend's sporadic outburst, "Sorry, I would offer to deal you in, but since Danni here destroyed the fourth pack of cards this week..."

"Surely that's not very Jedi-like – card games?" Clari observed, smiling widely – it was an old joke she had been teased about before.

Fern, ever willing to please, piped up, "But Master Yoda says that we must practise communicating with the Force." At this there was an outburst of laughter, dispelling the tension in the air.

"Fern, I don't think that's quite what Master Yoda meant."

Fern shrugged, and Clari thought she would get away with being invisible, until Danni enquired, "So - Clari, was it? - do you know anyone here yet?"

"Only a few - Alex, Master Kenobi, Master Skywalker-" Clari was interrupted by an odd cross between a squeal and a sigh, that seemed to have come from Alex. Everyone stared at Alex's blushing face in astonished silence; with another muted squeak, she hid under the table.

"I know what this is about," Padawan Lesa smirked from the corner, "I think young Alex here has a crush on his son, Luke." Instantly, there were loud exclamations of denial from under the table, and everyone laughed.

"Don't worry," Clari smiled at Alex under the table, coaxing her out, "It happens to everyone."

"Are you speaking from experience?" Danni raised a delicate eyebrow, directing her sceptical gaze at Clari - the smile hovering at the edge of her mouth told Clari she was only joking.

"Of course," Clari replied in the same tone, "And I suppose you and Calo Santorini are just friends, then?"

Caught off guard, Danni could do little but stare open mouthed as Clari and Alex gloated contentedly. "I suppose I should mention," Alex inserted into the stunned silence, "Clari knows all of us too, in her own special way."

"Impossible." someone muttered - or perhaps it was everyone; an emotional echo through the Force.

"You have to remember, I am a time traveller - weird stuff happens to me as a matter of course." Clari spoke, easing the tension. "So yes, I knew the other versions of most people here, until I changed history, which changed you."

"Changed history?" Lesa almost shrieked - there was a cumulative 'shhh' from around the table, "Right, this is just getting too weird..."

Clari sighed, "Tell me about it."

"What she means, is that that's not at all what the stories about you said," Fern elaborated.

"Really?" Clari stroked her imaginary beard, "I'm curious, what do the stories say about me?"

"Umm, well," someone spoke, "obviously they say that you helped Master Skywalker kill Darth Sidious-"

"I heard that Clari killed Sidious herself!" piped up Fern.

"No, Anakin killed Sidious, that's why he's the Chosen One, remember?" Clari corrected.

At the same time that Fern nodded, Clari thought she picked up a stray thought through the Force. It was hazy, but seemed to imply 'so, first name terms then?'. The thought crossed Clari's mind of how surreal this was: the Anakin Skywalker of her study had been 20 years younger that the present version - but how different had the two become?

Someone obviously picked up Clari's train of thought, because Hannah's next comment was, "Are you sure you don't mean Luke Skywalker - his dad's, well... ancient."

"He's not that old," Clari defended, "and besides, when I did my mission he was only 22, and incredibly handsome."

There were noises of incredibly un-Jedi like debate between Danni and Hannah for several minutes, only intensified when Clari told them that Obi-Wan had been equally, if not more handsome.

Clari, Fern and Alex exchanged rueful looks - this sense of comradeship filled Clari with a warm feeling; her heart glowed.

Eventually, the two girls' discussion petered out, and Clari took in a long breath, gathering her courage, "Joking aside, I'm still new, and I-I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing."

"Don't worry-" Hannah re-assured.

"We'll be your friends-" Danni chorused, beaming.

"We'll be here to help you." finished Alex.

Lesa thrust her hand into the centre of the table, "Handpile time!" There were laughs, but everyone played along, piling their hands together.

"To the future." Clari proposed.

"To the future!" Came the chorus in reply, perhaps just a bit too loudly - just enough that it attracted the attention of Jocasta Nu, the fearsome librarian.

"Padawans, will you keep it down - this is a library!"

* * *

**Yay! And so this 11 month adventure of Clari and her imagination ends – I'd like to thank my friends, my family, my dog... Tell me what you think, and watch this space – I've already started another 'What if' story (this time with added evil Anakin). I hope you enjoyed it!**


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